The Hartupee-Irwin Chime of Bells
Dr. Richard Peerson

The original chime was dedicated on April 12, 1908, as a gift to the city of San Diego with First Methodist Episcopal Church as the custodian and was housed in the bell tower of the former church building located at 9th and C streets in downtown San Diego.

Of the fifteen cast bronze bells in the present Memorial Bell Tower, seven bells are original. The total weight of the bells is 8,463 pounds. The Hartupee-Irwin Chime of Bells is the largest set of bells in San Diego county and is listed and described on the Guild of Carillonneurs in North America (GCNA) web site, www.gcna.org.

Seven of the fifteen cast bronze bells located in the Memorial Bell Tower were donated to our church by Dr. Gaylord Hartupee, a Methodist minister who served churches in Northern Ohio, and retired in San Diego.

Classified as a “chime” by virtue of the number of bells, the set of eleven original bells were cast in 1906 by the Meneely Foundry of East Troy, New York. They were placed in the large bell tower in the new First Methodist Episcopal Church of San Diego, located at the corner of 9 th and C Streets in downtown San Diego. They were rung by hand by the church carillonneur. The eleven original bells were dedicated on April 12, 1908.

The bells were moved to Mission Valley in 1964 and they were silent until July 4, 1976, when the Memorial Bell tower was dedicated. The bells were rung by hand by Gwen Myers until church member Everett Mehner devised a system to play the bells from the console of the organ.

By 1992, four of the original bells became unplayable. Through the generosity of the Irwin family and many other donors, money was raised to engage the Verdin Bell Co. of Cincinnati, Ohio, to recast four of the original bells, refurbish seven of the other original bells and add four new bells for greater versatility. The fifteen bells were redistributed throughout the tower in a secure steel frame. State-of-the-art striking mechanisms were provided using the console of the organ. The Hartupee-Irwin bells were dedicated on September 22, 1996

Carilloneur Walter Knouse rings bells by hand
in the bell tower at 9th and C