Perfect chiming

A lightning bolt from an early morning thunderstorm struck the Bell Tower last month, leaving the campus devoid of its natural soundtrack.

But after a month of inactivity, the tower once again is chiming every 15 minutes.

The strike caused about $8,000 worth of damage to the majority of the drive cards inside the computer that controls the tower, said senior Travis Kephart, the master bell-ringer in charge of maintaining the Bell Tower.

Members of the maintenance staff noticed that the Bell Tower was not working soon after the storm and notified Kephart the same day.

“I apologize to everyone that it has not been ringing,” said Kephart, whose duties include making sure that the Bell Tower rings and that it is set to government time.

Kephart has been the master bell ringer since May 2002 and said that during his term, lightning has caused damage to the tower four times: once in 2003, twice in 2004 and once this year.

The last time the tower was repaired, surge protectors were placed in the tower to protect the computer and the driver boards.

Kephart said the computer components are the most essential parts to protect because they run the tower’s clock and bell.

But the surge protectors didn’t do the job during the lightning storm this time around.

Several students said they didn’t even notice that the bell wasn’t ringing until it started sounding again.

“A lot of students kind of took the chimes for granted and didn’t notice it was missing until they heard it again,” Kephart said.

But other students said they were wondering what happened to the tower.

“I was asking my friend why it hadn’t been ringing anymore,” said Will Donegan, a freshman English major.

“I don’t have a watch, so sometimes I listen out for the rings to know how much time I have to get to class.”

Jon Gehlbach, a junior biology major, also said he missed the chimes.

“It was kind of nice because it was like a soundtrack while walking to class,” he said.

Students will not only be hearing the chimes of the bell once again, but they also will have a new soundtrack to listen to on the way to class.

Kephart changed the song list Friday, and now the tower will chime songs such as the Disney classic “A Whole New World,” the anthem from “Top Gun” and James Taylor’s “Carolina In My Mind.”

 

Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.