Trinity Church raising money to repair bells installed in 1943

The Old Trinity Foundation is launching a fundraising campaign to restore the Gardner Chime, a set of 12 bells, at the church, on Adams Street in downtown Toledo.

The Old Trinity Foundation for Trinity Episcopal Church in downtown Toledo is trying to raise $50,000 to pay for repairs to some bells that were installed at the church in 1943.

The grass-roots organization launched its fund-raising campaign on Friday.

Known as the Gardner Chimes, they are a set of 12 bells weighing 9.6 tons that eventually fell into disrepair and have remained silent for the past 20 years.

"It's very hard to put a value on this project," said the Rev. Elizabeth Hoster, the rector at Trinity Episcopal Church. "When you think of the soundscape of the city - when you enter the city and hear something like this - it says you have more than just cars driving by.

"It will give a sense of pride to the city."

The bells were a gift from Ellen Gardner, who died in 1960 at the age of 93, said Pastor North. Ms. Gardner's family were "true urban pioneers," settling in Toledo in 1852, and raising their family in a home at the corner of Madison and Superior streets, he said.