Bells Will be Ringing: FamilyÂ’s Passion for Bell Collecting Resonates with Next Generation
The Kolerus familyÂ’s passion for bell collecting resonates through the years.
(PRWEB) December 23, 2004
Bells will be ringing in the homes of Scottsdale residents Ethel and Keith Kolerus this holiday season. The mother-son duo, along with the rest of the family, has made bell-collecting part of a treasured family tradition.
The practice began in 1943 when Ethel, as a new bride, first visited her husband, Frank, who was serving in the army at a base in West Palm Beach, Fla. To commemorate the occasion, Ethel purchased a decorative bell from a nearby gift store to remind her of the event.
Soon collecting bells became a family hobby. When Ethel and Frank traveled, they added new bells to their collection. When children, Keith and Nancy came along, they joined in the fun, often marking holidays and special occasions with gifts of unique bells.
Locating hard-to-find bells became a challenge for family members and friends, and became an important part of family vacations as they traveled to new locations.
Today, the collection consists of over 300 bells in a variety of shapes, sizes, materials and styles from all parts of the globe. The assortment includes a complete set of Waterford crystal bells, a small brass bell from Holland, a bell from VietNam and several delicate china bells shaped like Elizabethan-era dolls wearing hooped skirts.
Other distinctive ringers include a small hand-carved teakwood bell from Indonesia, a brass bell sent by a friend stationed with the Strategic Air Command in Africa and a large gong from India topped with miniature ivory elephants.
The collection also features a Dresden bell that is a copy of the Freedom Bell of West Berlin, a bell with a stunning inlaid jade handle, a hand-wrought silver bell and a wall-mounted San Francisco trolley bell, a gift from EthelÂ’s son, Keith.
Also included in the collection is a large number of animal bells used to track flocks of camel, goats, turkeys and elephants. A special elephant bell purchased during a 1958 vacation to Niagra Falls was the mate to one used by a delegate at the National Republican Convention that year.
Other bells have interesting histories. For example, a series of brass gongs in graduated sizes was sent to Ethel by a friend who served as a missionary in China. There, the bells were rung to announce services or call people together for special events.
Because Ethel believes the collection should be used as much as possible, she has loaned a number of bells to deserving groups over the years. The Chinese mission gongs, for example, were used as props in her daughter, Nancy’s, Mt. Prospect High School production of “The Good Earth.”
Other bells were lent to Girl Scout troops studying the customs of foreign countries, and Ethel, former secretary of IllnoisÂ’ Northwest Suburban Chapter of the American Cancer Society, loaned a number of smaller bells to bedridden cancer patients who used them to summon family members or healthcare workers to their bedsides.
One of the most prized and nostalgic bells in her collection is a large bell that hung in the bell tower of the Grimms Public School in Grimms, Wis., where her husband Frank, now deceased, attended school.
For over 98 years, the bell summoned children in the community of 68 to a one-room schoolhouse. Today, the bell sits in a cupola atop Keith KolerusÂ’ new 9,000-square-foot home on Pinnacle Peak.
Much of the collection is now kept in boxes at KeithÂ’s home, but some of it remains on display in EthelÂ’s apartment at Sierra Pointe retirement community. As she moves among the familiar bells, chimes and gongs, tapping one occasionally to take in its clear resonance, she smiles as if greeting an old friend.
Ethel believes her hobby has brought her and the rest of the Kolerus family a great deal of pleasure over the years. Looking at the bells, she says, is like visiting old friends and relatives. Each evokes memories of some special place or time.
During the holidays, Ethel, Keith and other family members will ring the old school bell to commemorate a family tradition of tintinnabulation that has lasted over 61 years.
About Sierra Pointe
Sierra Pointe is ScottsdaleÂ’s finest luxury rental retirement community, combining the ambience and amenities of a five-star resort with the convenience of a prime location overlooking the scenic McDowell Mountains. For additional information, contact the community by phone at (480) 767-9800 or by visiting their Web site at www. sierrapointe. com.
Photos are available upon request.
Public Relations support provided by Kimberly Bagnal of Artistic Alliance.
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