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As last reported here, we didn't quite get an all-local quarter peal on June 30 to honor Jim Strader's 65th birthday, but it was made up for by two subsequent dedications. On July 2, a quarter of Grandsire Triples was achieved and duly footnoted. Visitors on this occasion included Don and Elisabeth Trumpler, Greg Hinson, Meredith Morris, Alex Taft and Nancy Perry, as well as local ringers Ross Finbow and John Lingley. And on July 4, Ross participated in a peal at the National Cathedral, and Jim's big day was included in the footnotes.
A wonderful new addition to Pittsburgh's extended ringing family is Elizabeth Boyd's daughter Esther Fortune. Her happy arrival was widely celebrated, with peals in both Boston and Charleston and a quarter peal here in Pittsburgh honoring the event.
There was quite a bit of ringing activity during the week of Sept 10-17. On the weekend of Sept 10-12, we hosted the mid-Atlantic area meeting. Visitors included Roy and Eileen Latham, Bruce and Eileen Butler, Pete Outcalt and Jim Snyder. During the weekend, Jim scored his first quarter peal. Congratulations, Jim! This was also Eileen's 400th quarter peal. Local ringers participating in the quarter included Nick Rossi and Mary Bragdon. On the Monday following the area meeting, Jim and Hazel Bailey, visiting from the UK, spent the evening with us, ringing a quarter peal of Plain Bob. Local participants included Alison Peters, Mary, Nick and Ross. And finally, on Sept 17, the annual peal weekend for the US residents of the ASCY was held in Pittsburgh, and included John King, Greg Hinson, Cecily Rock and Richard Dirkson from Washington, Timothy Barnes from Chatham, NJ, and John Owen from Winston-Salem. The ringing included a quarter peal of Bristol surprise Major; it was local ringer Nick's first quarter in the method. On Sept 28th, we hosted a group of ringers from the UK--mainly Cheshire, Staffordshire & Leicestershire. Local ringers Nick and Alison joined in for some ringing as well.
A few of our ringers continued to travel to other towers for ringing as well. In the past 3 months, Ross's itinerary has included peals in Frederick, Charleston and Sullivan's Island as well as quarters in Kalamazoo and a tour of towers in Western Canada. Nick spent two weeks in the UK on a ringing tour, and also rang at Kalamazoo, and Betty joined in a quarter peal of Grandsire Triples in Washington.
As we move into the hot and humid Pittsburgh summer, we are more grateful than ever for the air conditioning in our (windowless) ringing chamber. On the other hand, unlike many other towers, whose splendid views out their windows could possibly be a distraction to the ringers, the four brick walls in our tower serve to help focus us on the task at hand.
We were sorry to say goodbye to Kelly MacShane, one of our promising younger ringers.....she's moving with her family to California. We wish her all the best, and hope she can link up with ringers somewhere in the future.
On June 12th, we had a visit from Val Brown, a Victoria ringer (and NAGCR's education secretary). Val had once lived in Pittsburgh, though before our bells were installed. We were happy to help him celebrate his 50th birthday with a quarter peal, which was also a first quarter for Nicole Bloch, who rang the treble.
Another first was Nick Rossi's peal at the Old Post Office tower in Washington: it was his first peal of Surprise: 4-spliced (C, Y, N & R). Nick is also off to England and Wales in July, joining the Butlers and several others on a whirlwind ringing tour.
On June 30th, to honor Jim Strader on his 65th birthday, we attempted a quarter of Plain Bob Triples. It would have been a first quarter for Jim, and the first all-local quarter of triples. Alas, part-way through the second attempt, Ross, the conductor, had to call stand. Next year, Jim!
After several cases of lost ringer syndrome, and a few requests for specific directions, we've added a local map to our website with better instructions to the tower itself. Another addition is a link with directions to a splendid new pub, Molly Brannigan's, which is even closer than the previous holder of the closest pub to tower title, the Saloon.
General progress continues with ringing at Southminster. We have two new recruits since the New Year in Craig Johnston and Thomas Fowler. Both are coming along and should soon be attempting Plain Hunt. Kelly MacShane has recently started on Plain Bob and should be moving “onward and upward” in due course.
Our more experienced ringers continue to work on more advanced methods as circumstances permit. Elizabeth Boyd, Mary Bragdon and Nick Rossi are all working on Cambridge Major, and the whole band is working on Little Bob but has not yet achieved sufficiently consistent proficiency for touches.
An all local quarter peal of Plain Bob Minor was rung on Easter Sunday.
On March 19th we made our second of what we hope may become annual visits to ring with the WRS at the cathedral in Washington. This is very helpful to us as it not only gives our less experienced ringers an opportunity to ring on bigger and more challenging bells, but also gives our more advanced ringers a chance to work on methods that we cannot attempt with only our local band. Six Southminster ringers made the trip, and we were also joined by Don Morrison and Lynn Kodrich, who also came to Pittsburgh for a peal attempt the following day. We are again very grateful to the WRS for their time, efforts and hospitality..
Two peals have been attempted this year, both by visiting bands and both successful. Don Trumpler brought a band to ring Superlative on New Year’s Day, and Don Morrison brought a band to ring Plain Bob Triples on Palm Sunday (March 20th). Elizabeth participated in the latter, so there was a bit of PCRG participation.
Since our first peal on Easter Sunday a few months ago, three more peals have been rung in the Peace Tower at Southminster. To commemorate Independence Day, on July 4 a band organized by Don Trumpler rang a peal of Double Norwich Court Bob Major. First time visitors to the tower for this peal included Margaret Miller, Timothy Barnes and Paul Graupner, and other visitors included Pauline Smith, Elisabeth Trumpler and Derek Sawyer. Ross Finbow, our ringing master, rounded out the band. On Labor Day, another peal was scored, this one of Plain Bob Major and which included 4 local ringers: Ross, Elizabeth Boyd, Nick Rossi and John Lingley. For the latter three, it was their first peal of major. Thanks to our visitors, Don Morrison, Mike Schulte, Aileen Murphy and Roy Latham, for participating and to Rich Pinkerton for getting the air conditioning repaired in time for the peal. The third peal was rung by a visiting band from England. Bob Smith, of Eayre and Smith, along with a group of about 15 ringers, included Pittsburgh in their tour of North American bell towers and on September 19 rang a peal of Lincolnshire Surprise Major.
In other news, Ross organized another training weekend late in July. Visitors who came to help our guild included Lynn Kodrich, Aileen Murphy, Rana Mikkelson, Don Morrison, Alan Regin and Mike Shulte. Beginners and more experienced ringers alike enjoyed three days of ringing and camaraderie. Three quarter peals were rung during the weekend, and on Saturday evening, the group had a backyard barbecue at Mission Drive, with John wearing the chef's apron and Elizabeth acting as margarita mixmistress.
On the road trip front, in anticipation of the October striking competition, a group of eight Pittsburghers, including the Peters family, Mary Bragdon, Nick Rossi and Ross, visited Raleigh in mid-August Thanks to all the Raleigh ringers for their time and hospitality. Visits to other towers included Ross, Elizabeth and Mary at the Kalamazoo Quarters Weekend in August, and various trips to Washington and Boston. Ross also participated in the two peals that were rung in Quebec City to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the cathedral.
Finally, on Sept 30, just in time for the Clapper's October Area Report, at our Thursday practice, Alison Peters rang her first quarter peal, trebling to Plain Bob Minor. Alison is the first of the latest group of beginners to reach this milestone. Well done, Alison, and we look forward to the other beginners following suit.
Here is a link to a test page for a NAGCR "apparel service". This is not at all a functioning service, only an idea for one, but if any interested parties care to log on and register a sample request, it would give us an indication whether the service might be useful. If it does appear to be useful, a proposal could be made to the executive committee and membership that something like this could be initiated. Find the fictitious NAGCR Apparel Service here.
During the past year and a half, from the installation of the bells in September 2002 to the first peal attempt on the bells on Easter Sunday of 2004, Ross Finbow, the tower's ringing master, has been writing and compiling a series of instructional articles, observations and opinions intended as a curriculum and guide for what was an essentially new band of ringers. These articles have been invaluable aids as the tower band progressed over the months. Today Ross releases this Tower Handbook to a wider audience. Included in the tome are a wide variety of topics: a clearly defined ringing curriculum with sequential target performance goals, suggestions for suitable ringing committee posts, and hints for managing ringing sessions for an inexperienced band, by an inexperienced band, and much more. You can find the Handbook on the Publications and Links page.
On Easter Sunday, the first peal took place in the tower: a 5040 of Plain Bob Triples rung in 2 hours 48 minutes, a significant milestone for the tower and for the ringers. Four local ringers took part (Ross Finbow, who conducted the peal, Nick Rossi, Elizabeth Boyd and John Lingley), as well as four invited guests: Quilla Roth from Washington DC, Bruce Butler and Don Trumpler, both from Philadelphia, and Derek Sawyer from Toronto. These four have been invaluable contributors to the progress of the ringers. An interesting footnote: though it's the first peal rung in this tower and on this set of eight bells, there have been over a hundred peals rung on the older back 6 bells, which originally hung in St John's Church in Preston, Lancashire, England.
Ringing Master: Don Morrison -
Area Rep / Secretary: Alison Peters -
Treasurer: Rich Pinkerton -
Steeple Keeper: Nick Rossi -
Tower Safety: Jim Strader -
Social Secretary: Elizabeth Boyd -
Tower Handbook: Ross Finbow -
We welcome visiting ringers to the tower. Refer to our Ringing Times and Policies page for complete details. Currently (June-August '05), service ringing is at 11 am Sundays, and tower practices are Thursday evenings from 7 to 9 pm. Visiting bands wishing to schedule ringing sessions outside of our regular practice times, or to schedule quarters and peals should contact , PCRG Secretary. Also we encourage anyone interested in learning to ring to contact us. Orientation sessions will be held in December followed by a 3- to 4-month series of learners' sessions. For further information, see the Learners Page.
The North American Guild of Change Ringers website has a wealth of information about ringing activities at various bell towers throughout the United States and Canada. To learn more about the exercise of change ringing itself, visit the MIT change ringing web site. For further resources, refer to our Publications & Links page.
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