Well, maybe a replica of it.

            A few weeks ago, our Early Files section featured an item from 50 years ago that reported a Liberty Bell replica sponsored by the Upper Perkiomen Rotary Club as a 1976 Centennial project that has been on display at various locations in the Upper Perkiomen Valley and has now been placed, for a two-month period, in the lobby of the East Greenville Savings and Loan Associations.

The Liberty Bell replica, sponsored by the Upper Perkiomen Valley Rotary Club as a 1976 Centennial project, was on display at various loc- ations in the Upper Perkiomen Valley.  On January 6, 1975 it was placed, for a two-month period, in the lobby of the East Greenville Savings and Loan.  Pictured left to right, Harry Swing, chairman of the Rotary Liberty Bell Committee, Leroy Gabel, president of the Savings and Loan, Warren Stauffer and Owen Hoffman, both members of the Rotary Club and members of the savings and loan board of directors.

            A current member of the Rotary Club of Upper Perkiomen asked if I had any additional information at the time.  I didn't, but I felt it was interesting enough to pursue; so I did.

            In commemoration of the 200th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the Whitechapel Bell Foundry of London, England was commissioned to make exact replicas of the iconic Liberty Bell that they cast in 1752.  About 100 of the replicas were planned to be delivered to communities throughout the United States.

Schulmerich Electronics, manufacturer of carillons and bells, moved to Sellersville in 1950 and operated there until 2013.

            In addition to the large bells, about 2,400 smaller one-fifth replicas were also being cast. It was one for every month of liberty enjoyed in this republic up until the Bi-Centennial period.  But, there were even small replicas made.

            A smaller one-quarter replica of the Liberty Bell was presented to the Upper Perkiomen Valley by the Upper Perkiomen Rotary Club.  It would be displayed at a variety of locations for the duration of the Bicentennial period.

            Among those locations was the Green Lane office of the Union Bank and Trust and the lobby of the East Greenville Savings and Loan.

            There was a regional connection to the bell presented by the Upper Perkiomen Rotary Club.  It was made in Sellersville by Schulmerich Carillons.  At the time, Schulmerich, operating out of a former shirt factory, was the world's largest producer of carillons and handbells.  They were also one of only a handful of handbell manufacturers in the world.

            Today, Schulmerich Bells, LLC is located in Green Lane and is one of only two

handbell manufacturers in the world.

            It was reported that the Liberty Bell replica presentation was gratifying to the local Rotary Club because the many folks who visited it showed great pride in having the bell displayed in their community.