The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
‘We’re all going to come out stronger’
EAST HAMPTON — Eleven days ago, a Connecticut selectman was having a really bad day.
It was March 16, when officials began banning gatherings of 50 or more people and closing restaurants to all but takeout orders due to the spread of coronavirus in Connecticut.
“My mom had fallen the week before and she was at the hospital. I’m a small business owner, and we had to figure out new protocols, sanitize everything. So it was a horrible day,” said Windsor Locks Selectman Scott Storms, the past international director of the Lions Club.
“Then I went out there and rang a bell — and I smiled for two minutes,”
said Storms, an upbeat, energetic man who has chosen to look on the
bright side of things as well he can these days.
East Hampton Lions Club member Mary Krough saw Storms’ social media post and thought it would be an ideal project
for her hometown.
“This is something we should start in East Hampton, with us being Belltown,” she thought, then shared the link on the Let’s Talk East Hampton Facebook page.
Sharon Hull, president elect of the East Hampton Rotary Club, saw it, gathered her husband, brotherin-law and others who live in her Princess Pocotopaug neighborhood, and headed to the beach.
“Every night, a bunch of us all go out from various parts of town and we ring our bells,” on their porch, front steps or at the end of the driveway,” Krough said. Of course, many are Bevin Bells.
East Hampton’s nickname is Belltown — a nod to its manufacture of these world-famous bells, an industry that began in 1832.
“It seemed like it was a good thing to do. More and more people were starting to respond to our Facebook links, and people were saying, ‘Don’t stop. This is what we look forward to,’” Hull said.
East Hampton’s events begin at 7 p.m. seven days a week.
“We decided one night we should go down to the beach and do a social distancing happy hour. We were all separated, and waited until it was time to ring the bell. The kids had a good time,” Hull said.
So, she posted the video to her Facebook page March 20. In it, about a dozen people ring their bells triumphantly along the beach as the sun sets, accompanied by whoops and laughter. They all maintain a physical distance from one another but are together in spirit.
Six or so people joined in that first night. Since then, Hull estimates the practice has spread to about 100 or so people, ringing their bells when they can.
Storms rings his bell nightly at 8 p.m. for two minutes either on his front porch or out in the community with his dog for company. The idea is to spread hope and a sense of connection while people are home-bound or practicing social distancing during the coronavirus outbreak.
He got the idea from First Selectman J. Christopher Kervick.
Krough was so happy to join in on the mission she sent three Bevin Bells to Storms for himself, Kervick, and Selectman Paul M. Harrington, as well as another to Song’s son Drew in Pennsylvania.
Every morning, Storms posts a photo that references where he’ll be that evening. He’ll add the quote of the day to engage people. Thursday, he uploaded a photo of a wooden baseball bat and ball.
“The whole idea was to get the community together, stand outside on our front porches, say hello to our neighbors, sort of say ‘we’re all here together,’ so they hear that we care. I’m the leader and cheerleader at this point,” Storms said, a job he doesn’t mind one bit.
“We’re all going to come out of it OK, and we’ll come out stronger because we tried to make our community as safe as possible,” Storms explained. “We’re all thrilled somehow our little town is making a difference in this big global catastrophe we have.”
Krough is just as eager to spread cheer nightly.
“My husband thinks I’m nuts,” Krough said. “The cars go by, and they look at me,” she said with a laugh. “They honk, or stare, and say, ‘What in the world? What’s this nut doing?’ … It’s really loud.”
These are town crier bells, used in years past to summon people to a central gathering area, such as the green.
“They’re 6-inch bells, they’re loud. They used to use them years ago when there was some type of message,” said Krough, who couldn’t be happier to be a part of the movement. “It feels great. It’s showing compassion.”
She lives in a more remote area and can only hear one of her neighbors’ bells, so when 7 p.m. rolls around, Krough walks to the end of her driveway to jingle her bell in unison.
“It feels super, because it shows people are caring. It’s our way of saying ‘hang in there. We’re going to get over it,’” said Krough, who was pleased to relate that the village of Mystic recently adopted the idea.
This week, Storms received a photo from a Keene, N.H., newspaper, which referenced Windsor Locks as the community that originated the idea. He was delighted.
Hull, an orthopedic surgery nurse practitioner, has since learned residents of Cobalt, Portland and Enfield are among those who jumped aboard the project.
She has three Bevin bells — one is an inaugural from an anniversary year, another, a cow bell from the historical society, and one from a Rotary Club speaker who gave it to her.
“There are a lot of stories behind the bell. For us, it’s hope and solidarity: That’s what we’re trying to bring to people,” she said. “Bells traditionally have warded off evil spirits. Passing bells along to other people brings them good luck. Bells are supposed to be given away, so if you give it away, it doubles the luck.”
Hull’s office is performing less surgery than before Covid-19 became widespread in Connecticut.
“I see the fear in the people. People are afraid to come to medical appointments. They’re afraid to go to the grocery store,” said Hull, who befriended one of the seniors in town Wednesday.
She offered to do a little shopping and dropped the items off at the woman’s home. “We are now friends on Facebook because of the bell ringing. She is ringing every night.
“It’s really community adhesiveness during a time when we’re all being told to separate. It’s a way for our community to know they’re not alone in this. We’re all suffering, we’re all separated, but we’re going to come out stronger. We’re here for each other, and we’ll do whatever we can for each other,” Hull said.