Last wek the Joshua Stevens Chapter, National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (NSDAR) of St. Cloud presented the annual Bells Across America ceremony at St. Cloud Fire Rescue Department.
At 4 p.m., Deputy Fire Chief Richard Tonks rang the fire station bell 237 times to celebrate the anniversary of the signing of the Constitution and to kick off Constitution Week held Sept. 17-23.
“It’s really important to celebrate one of the great documents that makes this country one of the greatest places to live,” Tonks said.
In 2022, St. Cloud Mayor Nathan Blackwell presented the Joshua Stevens Chapter with the Constitution Week Proclamation in honor of Constitution Week. Since then, an additional ring has been added for each year that passes. This year the bell will be rung 237 times for the 237 years since the Constitution was signed.
In 1955, NSDAR petitioned Congress to designate Sept. 1723 as Constitution Week, and was signed into law by President Dwight D. Eisenhower on Aug. 2, 1956. Bells Across America is a nationwide event and one of the ways we commemorate the signing of the Constitution. Fire stations, courthouses churches, schools and individuals were encouraged to ring bells on Sept. 17 at 4 p.m. est. in all time zones, so they are heard simultaneously from coast to coast.
The goal of NSDAR is to encourage study and educate the public about the Constitution.
“This is a wonderful community event to raise awareness,” Joshua Stevns Regent Kim Tennison said. “The constitution is worth remembering and studying and worth celebrating.”
NSDAR is a women’s service organization whose members can trace their lineage to an individual who contributed to securing American independence during the Revolutionary War. Today, they are dynamic and diverse, with over 185,000 members in 3,000 chapters in the United States and abroad. Members annually provide millions of hours of volunteer service to their local communities across the country and world. DAR chapters participate in projects to promote historic preservation, education, and patriotism.
If you are interested in learning more about Joshua Stevens NSDAR membership, visit Facebook @JoshuaStevens NSDAR and Instagram @joshua stevensnsdar, or email joshua stevensnsdar@gmail.com.
