President Jimmy Carter and an old iron bell

In his hometown of Plains, Ga., President Jimmy Carter was honored by the tolling of a #4, 20-inch, CS Bell Company, Hillsboro, Ohio bell.

The National Park Service oversees the bell and rang the toll 39 times for our 39th president.

The tolling of the old iron bell kicked off six days of formal ceremonies.

Jimmy Carter’s funeral procession then made its way to Washington and the Capitol Building, where the president was lying in state for three days.

For 134 years, The CS Bell Company, aka Bell’s Foundry, the little foundry that could, cast tens of thousands of Crystal Metal Steel Alloy iron bells for just such occasions. And like Jimmy Carter, they did not need to be glamorous.

Most of the one million iron bells cast by the CS Bell Company did not have The CS Bell Company name on the bell. They are identified as crystal metal or steel alloy, church, school, fire or farm bell. To many people, they were just bells.

Charles Bell wasn't concerned about getting his name out there. He wanted folks to know what he was selling. His name just happened to be Bell.

Jimmy Carter was a salt-of-the-earth, humble man, who lived the ideal Christian life for 100 years. He was successful in business and politics, getting elected president, saving the family farm, and with his life partner Rosalynn, made Habitat For Humanity a household name. For the majority of his adult life, Jimmy Carter taught Sunday school classes at Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains, Ga.

Any other president would most likely have been honored by the tolling of a beautiful bronze bell brightly shined for the occasion. Not Jimmy Carter. Wasn’t necessary. The bell, tolling for our deceased president, was just right for Jimmy Carter. It’s the ring that counts.

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