The Legend of the Church Bells

(West Creek lost something very beautiful 
when it lost the duet of the church bells)

The little shore settlement, West Creek,
where quaint homes and old trees line each street,
was a haven for aging sea captains
who'd relive sailing days when they'd meet.
Their descendants still sit on those porches,
and sometimes when they hear the church bell
they recall when twin bells rang together
and this is the story they tell.

"Circuit preachers made stops in our village
as they rode their trails long years ago.
They founded a Methodist group here,
and they watched the Society grow.
They met in woodsgroves, or the schoolhouse,
until early trustees allowed
they should have a real church, so they raised funds,
built a small church to make their hearts proud.

Forty years was to pass 'til new trustees
decided their church was outgrown.
Then they chanced off a yacht and some prizes;
built a fine larger church for their own.
The town's Baptists bought the first building
and moved it a ways down the hill.
When the Methodist sexton rang their bells,
the Baptist bells echoed the trill.

Townspeople bowed heads down in reverence
at the blending of bells, as they pealed.
Whether home, or on way to the meeting,
or laboring out in their field.
The bells tolled together for funerals;
on Main Street folks drew window shades down,
store owners closed doors in respect, too,
for processions that moved thru' the town.

Yes, those were the days when the churches
were the centers of family life.
When neighbors took pleasure in sharing
and supporting each other in strife.
Families gathered for programs and hymnsings
and food fests to observe holidays,
get-togethers and fairs in the summers,
mixing fun with their fund-raising ways.
Sharing festivals, picnics and suppers,
while in fellowship members worked hard.
For the upkeep of two little churches
nested down near the village graveyard.

For nearly ten decades the bells rang,
their harmony heard far and wide.
Tintinnabulations to the glory of God
from the churches that sat side by side.
Then the duet the bells played was ended,
for the Baptists removed to new ground.
But the legend the bells made still lingers
and our memories echo their sound."

- Lillian Arnold Lopez "Pineylore"

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