Hudson School bell making a comeback

By Nathalie Torkelson, Reporter

HUDSON - When the Hudson Public Schools burned in 2007 the school bell, which called the students to school for many years, was also gone for a time. When the original school, which was the building on the south of the two school buildings, burned and collapsed the bell fell into the rubble along with everything else.
As the cleanup of the rubble began the thought of finding the school bell was always there. Finally one day the bell was found and rescued. It was moved to the Hudson Library where it has sat in storage and looking just as it did the day it was rescued. The fire and fall into the rubble did cause some damage to the bell. A couple of small cracks now run along the bell and the sound we all remember is gone. The fire also caused the bell to need some heavy duty cleaning. The fire baked what dirt and grime was already on it from years of hanging in the school and left the bell in need of cleaning.
This past week Lynn and LaRaine Thorpe and Bob and Nathalie Torkelson took the bell to Thorpe’s farm near Hudson and began the process of cleaning up the bell. A power washer was used on the bell along with naval jelly and another heavy duty cleaner to help remove the burned residue. A couple of steel brushes also aided in the cleanup. The result was a much better looking bell but also brought up the question on how to preserve the bell going forward. After Lynn made a few calls to see if he could get any suggestions on what to do with the bell he made the decision to buy a rust proof paint to prime the bell with to prevent any future rusting of the bell. Following the priming of the bell it will be painted black.
As the cleaning of the bell progressed the manufacturer’s name was able to be read. It was discovered that the bell was made by The Goulds Manufacturing Company of Seneca Falls, New York. Since the school was built in the late 1800’s a little history of the bell seemed in order. The bell also had the number 28 on the front of the bell.
Back in 1894 the process of using Google was not an option but today that process came in very handy to find out a little history of where the bell came from. The Goulds Manufacturing Company was originally a factory which built wooden pumps and was called Downs and Company. It was not purchased by Seabury S. Gould until 1848. Gould cast the first all-iron pump the following year as he believed an iron pump would overcome the disadvantages of the wooden pump. The pump became the main product of the company. When the canals in New York began there was a larger need for goods by more people.
It was then that Goulds began producing all kinds of cast products such as corn shellers, sad irons, sinks, tools, a line of fire engines and “bells.” In 1869, the name of the company was changed from Downs & Company to Goulds Manufacturing Company. A member of the Goulds family was president of the company until 1964. Today the name of the company has been changed to ITT Goulds Pumps.
I was able to contact the company and they sent me a little information on the early bells. A bell similar to the Hudson School Bell probably weighed around 247 pounds and cost somewhere around $40.00. The bells were made for churches, school houses, factories and engine houses. The exact year the Hudson School Bell was made is not clear as it may have hung in the first school house in Hudson and later added to the school built in 1894.
All the bells made by the Goulds Manufacturing Company were made of iron, and the school bells ran between 20 inch bells and 28 inch bells in diameter. The Hudson School Bell is a 28 inch bell. School bells were cast thinner to give them a higher ring so people didn’t mistake the sound of the school bell for the church or fire bell. Although mention was made that at times a number of church bells found their way to schools just as steam locomotive bells found their way to churches.
While the bell may never ring again as it did while school was in session in years past; it will always hold a special place in the hearts of past Hudson School students. It is the plans of the Hudson Alumni Association to place a memorial to the Hudson Public Schools by the new Hudson Community Center which was the site of the Hudson Schools. A very special part of that memorial will be Hudson’s School Bell manufactured by The Goulds Manufacturing Company.