The victory bell now has a new home.
The bell being driven down Union Street.
Sixty years after the
original victory bell made its way onto the Valparaiso University
campus, the current bell has a new home, just in time for Homecoming. The bell, which has been anchored outside the
old Valparaiso Union since 1955, is now housed outside the west side of the Athletics-Recreation Center.
The victory bell was
originally suggested by a Valparaiso
University student in
1948 as a new tradition for the school.
A plea for a bell went out to the community, and the original bell was a
gift to the university. The 28-inch bell
had been found on a farm after previously being used in the downtown Valparaiso fire station.
The first victory bell was portable,
and drug through the campus on a cart.
It first made an appearance November 5, 1949 following a 21-13 win over Wheaton at Brown Field.
In 1955, director of
athletics Karl Henrichs suggested putting the victory bell in a frame in front
of the Union.
With funds from the Fort Wayne Sportman Club, which was supporters of
Crusader athletics, the new frame and bell was installed in December of
1955. A gift from Dr. and Mrs. Oliver
Graebner, the new bell came from the MessiahEvangelical Lutheran
Church in Chicago, and has been housed there ever
since.
Last Wednesday, September 30,
the bell at the Union was excavated to begin
the process of moving the bell. The
bell, and concrete base, weighed around 38,000 pounds, and was banded to iron
beam supports for transportation. The
bell itself was actually cradled by the beams, and not attached in any
way. By Friday, a police escort led the
procession down Union Street
and it was lowered into its new hole outside the ARC. Once leveled, a new concrete foundation was
poured, and the bell had its new home.
The bell is now ready to be
rung following the Homecoming game against San Diego on Saturday afternoon.
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