Using new technology and a mobile foundry, Cincinnati's Verdin Co. will cast the first of 88 Ohio Bicentennial bells today in Marietta, during the Ohio Sternwheeler Festival.

        “This is a fitting location because Marietta was the start of it all — the first settlement in the Northwest Territory,” said Gordon McCarthy of the Washington County Ohio Bicentennial Commission. “The bell will be our lasting reminder of the bicentennial.”

At the Verdin Bell Co., Phil Dravage readies a mobile foundry (background) that will cast the first Ohio Bicentennial bell in Marietta today. (Ernest Coleman photos) | ZOOM |

        By September 2003, the bicentennial year, each Ohio county will have received its own special bell — cast locally by Verdin, Ohio's oldest family-owned manufacturer. It has been making bells since 1842.

        The thick Bicentennial bells will be 2 feet wide, about 2 feet high and weigh 230 pounds. They will be inscribed with the name of the county, the date of casting, the Bicentennial logo and the Great Seal of Ohio.

        Fred Stratmann, spokesman for the Ohio Bicentennial Commission in Columbus, said the bells will become permanent icons.

        But the commission will wait until winter to decide when to cast bells in Southwest Ohio counties and in others. Although this year's castings are centered on major local events, the commission hopes that future bell castings might become attractions unto themselves.

        “This thing is only starting but you can feel the interest building,” Mr. Stratmann said.

Verdin's model of the bells bears the bicentennial logo. (Ernest Coleman photos) | ZOOM |

        The bell idea came from Stephen George, the commission's executive director, who wanted to create a lasting reminder of the bicentennial.

        “From the outset we have had three goals — to celebrate the bicentennial, to educate Ohioans about our state's history and traditions and to provide the entire state with legacy projects,” Mr. George said. “Bicentennial bells encompass all three of these goals.”

        The company will cast seven bells this year, 41 in 2002 and 40 in 2003, said president James R. Verdin.

        Although foundry experts said the job couldn't be done on-location, Mr. Verdin said, the company developed a portable foundry mounted inside a large trailer.

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