Bell project reaches fund-raising goal

Fund-raising work is complete for a Holton youth’s Eagle Scout project that involves the mounting of a historic bell at Holton’s Public Safety Building, it was reported.

Both Kyle Figge, 14, a member of Holton Boy Scout Troop 64, and his father, Craig Figge, the troop’s scoutmaster, said that all told, $3,300 has been raised through a car wash, a fish fry and “mountain oyster” feed for Kyle’s Eagle Scout project.

The project involves the mounting of a bell that dates back to the old S.K. Linscott Farm in 1889 on a concrete base at the Holton Public Safety Building, as well as the placement of two flagpoles near the bell, it has been reported.

“I think the funds that he’s raised are probably going to cover all the project costs,” Craig Figge said this morning.

The Figges also noted that work on the bell monument would likely begin in September, shortly after Labor Day. Craig Figge added that Kyle and other members of the Boy Scout troop will be involved in digging a hole for the monument’s base.

The project originated when the Holton Fire Deartment contacted the elder Figge about the possible placement of some flagpoles and a bell that the fire department wanted to have removed from the back of the fire station. Craig suggested Kyle look into the bell’s history.

Kyle found out that the bell, crafted in 1889 at the L.M. Rumsey Manufacturing Company in St. Louis, Mo., was used at the old Linscott farm in the 1890s, when community horse races were held at a racetrack that the Linscott family built, it was reported.

After the races were discontinued, the bell was reportedly used at Holton’s fire station as a “fire alert” in the early 20th century, then was later stored in a barn until it was moved to a newer barn that had stood at Linscott Park.

Kyle devised a plan to build a three-foot high brick monument for mounting the bell, similar to another bell mount that can be found at Evangel United Methodist Church in Holton. The difference between Figge’s planned bell mount and the bell mount at EUM, he said, is that the new mount will have an entirely concrete top.

The bell mount will be placed near the front of the Public Safety Building, but not directly in front of it, so that signage on the front of the building will not be obscured, it was reported.