Lord of the Rings Courtesy of Bevin Brothers (page 1 of 2) Bells
are so common in our culture that we don’t often pause to
appreciate their tone or consider our emotional responses to
them. Yet we hear them every day and are trained to react to
them when we do. They tell us when our workday begins and ends,
and when it’s time to move from one class to the next. They call
us to supper and alert us to fire. They bring excitement—when
ice cream bells ring. They herald joy or sorrow—when church
bells sound to signify a marriage or a death. Bells inform our
lives in a variety of ways, but where do they come from? An
awful lot of them have come from Bevin Brothers Manufacturing
Co. in East Hampton, which has been making bells for 179 years.
They are the last bell makers in a village that once supported
more than 35. During the 19th century, 90 percent of the world’s
sleigh bells were produced in East Hampton, which came to be
known as Bell Town. Sleigh bells, used to warn pedestrians and
other drivers when a wagon