Ogden Utah to Celebrate Veterans Day with Casting of Veterans Tribute Bell at the New George E. Wahlen Ogden Veterans Home

Ogden, UT (PRWEB) November 9, 2009

For two days, the Ogden community will help cast a bronze bell to celebrate and honor the men and women who serve or have served our country in the U.S. Armed Forces. The bell will be cast on November 10th and dedicated on Veterans Day (November 11th) at the new George E. Wahlen Ogden Veterans Home, located at 1102 North 1200, Ogden, Utah. Future plans include a Veterans Tribute Tower at the Veterans Home. The Veterans Tribute Towers are being installed across the United States as a way to enable communities across the nation to honor and thank their veterans.

“Ogden has a deep tradition in honoring our Veterans,” explained Utah Department of Veterans Affairs Executive Director Terry Schow. “This is a gratifying experience to know that we will have a lasting tribute to those that made and continue to make sacrifices for each and every one of us each day.”

The two-day celebration involves the entire community and includes the on-site casting of a 250 pound bronze bell by the world’s only mobile bell foundry.

The festivities begin on Tuesday, November 10, 2009, whereby the Ogden community will take part in an ‘ingot brigade,’ loading 500 pounds of bronze ingots into the 2200 degree furnace. The bell will be poured, cast and dedicated on-site. Using its one-of-a-kind “Bell Foundry on Wheels,” a special on-site casting process, The Verdin Company will enable the entire community to help create the custom bronze bell, and to experience the casting of the bell.
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“This bell will be a voice for the Ogden community in their tributes to honor past, current and future veterans,” said Utah Department of Veterans Affairs Deputy Director Dennis McFall.

On Wednesday, November 11, 2009, the Ogden community will watch as the bell mold is broken by the area veterans, dignitaries and community representatives, using a large sledgehammer to expose the customized bronze bell. Verdin will grind and polish the bell on-site. A formal dedication of the Veterans Tribute Bell will begin at 3 p.m. to celebrate Veterans Day. The Veterans Tribute Bell is made possible by community donations.

“The bell is a reminder that all communities need to ensure that our veterans receive the tribute they deserve,” said Advisory Committee member, Ralph Lowell Coleman, Jr,

Jim Verdin, president of The Verdin Company, said, “It’s an opportunity to say ‘thank you’ to veterans in honor of their selfless service to our nation.”

TIMELINE FOR OGDEN VETERANS TRIBUTE BELL ACTIVITIES:

Tuesday, November 10, 2009
THE BELL CASTING

10 a.m.     Bell Casting Ingot Parade
Families, school children, and area veterans will load 500 pounds of bronze ingots into furnace to begin the casting of the Veterans Tribute Bell. Music will accompany the procession provided by the St. Paul Lutheran School & Church Bell Choir and the Pine Tone & Kaye Starr Singers.

Verdin Bell Foundry on Wheels technicians create the bell mold while the furnace heats the bronze to the optimum pouring temperature of 2,200 degrees. The furnace can turn 500 pounds of bronze into molten liquid in two to three hours.

2 p.m.     Children’s Chorus, Informative Presentations on Bell Casting
Students and community tour Verdin’s Bell Foundry on Wheels and learn how a bell is made.

4 p.m.     Pouring of the Bell
Molten bronze will be poured into the bell mold at 2,200 degrees.

Wednesday, November 11, 2009
FINISHING THE BELL

9 a.m.     Cornerstone Ceremony by the Grand Lodge of Free & Accepted Masons of Utah.                    

10 a.m.     The Mold Breaking
Breaking of the bell mold by the local Veterans, dignitaries, and guests.

11 a.m.     Military Order of the Purple Heart Monument dedication

11 a.m. - 2 p.m.     Grind and polish the bell on-site.

VETERANS DAY CEREMONY: Dedication of Utah’s First Bell Cast On Site for Veterans

3 p.m.     Veterans Tribute Bell Dedication Ceremony
Area honorees and dignitaries will symbolically ring the bell for the first time. Music provided by the Ben Lomond High School Bagpipers of Ogden, UT.

Veterans Tribute Bell Facts:

•     The bell weighs 250 pounds and is 24” in diameter
•     The bell will ring with the musical note "E"
•     Verdin’s “Bell Foundry on Wheels” is the only on-site casting process in the world.

NEW GEORGE E. WAHLEN OGDEN VETERANS HOME
A $19.7 million dollar, 120-room state-of-the-art facility currently under construction at 1102 North 1200 West, Ogden, Utah 84404.

ABOUT THE VERDIN COMPANY
The Verdin Company, based in Cincinnati, Ohio, was founded in 1842. Spanning six generations, Verdin is one of the oldest family-owned companies in America, and is recognized as the preeminent manufacturer and installer of clocks, bells, carillons, glockenspiels, and other musical instruments, with over 35,000 installations worldwide.

Verdin created the Veterans Tribute Towers as a way to enable communities across the nation to honor and thank their veterans. For each tower sold, Verdin will donate a portion of revenue to the Commission on the Future for America’s Veterans, a Washington-based nonprofit formed in June 2006 to address the staggering challenges facing 21st century veterans. Visit http://www.verdin.com for more information.

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