Father K and the Henry Hooper bell

Interesting. Here's the eBay link. If that's our bell, we darn well better get it back.

m.ebay.com/itm/CHURCH-BELL-cast-by-H-Hooper-offered-for-sale-by-LOWERBELLS-CO-/252229120586

Working on it....Bell came off Fenwick in 1974

Good luck with the continued detective work, ncaam.

Please start no fires at other offices at HC.

Talking to mr lower is a simple task. Two 1853 Henry Hooper bells worth following up.

I have eliminated the Ebay/Lower bell as our bell. Quite a coincidence they are both 1853 Hoopers. I am enlisting his aid among the bell community in my search. I have also reached out to Mr Mahoney (below). He will send me pictures of his stolen bell which I will forward to Mr Lower. Mr Lower purchased his 1853 Hooper in Bar Harbor, Maine, 4-6 years ago. He says he's firm at $10,000. That would be a nice one to replace our bell at some future date.

www.woonsocketcall.com/bell-theft-takes-toll-on-owner/article_8acf287e-ff04-5fb4-b665-ea53c0d8558f.html

Bell and Hart Center:

imgur.com/a/lVM5G

The bell pictured in the Crossroads article is not the same bell as this 1853 bell by Hooper (Lowerbells' bell). The 'waist' of the HC bell is shorter.

Hope emerges in search for Worcester's missing gargoyles

Friday
Posted Oct 17, 2014 at 6:00 AM
Updated Oct 17, 2014 at 3:47 PM

By Nick Kotsopoulos TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
WORCESTER -- The search for the missing gargoyles from a historic church in the city has produced a new lead and a ray of hope that they may be returned.

Deborah Packard, executive director of Preservation Worcester, told the Historical Commission Thursday night that all eight gargoyles were sold by the Monson Savings Bank.


The bank came into possession of the gargoyles after foreclosing on a Southbridge company where they were being stored for the church.

Preservation Worcester initially did not hear back from bank officials when previous inquiries were made about the 3,000-pound stone ornaments' whereabouts, but Ms. Packard said she is now in regular contact with the bank president.

"The bank at first did not respond to any of our calls, but now we are in contact with the president of the bank several times a day," she told the commission. "He is working with us, and that is all I am at liberty to say at this time."

In an interview after the meeting, Ms. Packard said she has more hope now than before about the possible return of the gargoyles.

In a related matter, the city last week sent letters to the Monson Savings Bank and a Springfield-based auctioneer that had advertised the eight gargoyles for an auction it conducted on Feb. 14, 2012.

"If the gargoyles are in your possession, we request that you make arrangements for the secure return of the gargoyles to the church building at 5 Chestnut St.," wrote Stephen S. Rolle, director of the city Division of Planning and Regulatory Services.

"If the gargoyles are not in your possession, we are seeking any and all information regarding your disposition of the gargoyles and their current location."


He said his office subsequently spoke to Aaron Posnik & Co. Inc., the Springfield auctioneer, and it was confirmed that the gargoyles were not sold at the auction.

"I feel like we are making progress," Mr. Rolle told the Historical Commission. "The parties have been cooperating and hopefully a little more time will get us there."

The Monson Savings Bank came into possession of the gargoyles after it foreclosed on the former Monaco Restorations Inc. of Southbridge.

Monaco was hired by the Liberty Assembly Church of God in 2006 to remove the eight gargoyles from the two towers of its 119-year-old church because of structural issues with them.

One of the conditions set by the city for allowing that work to be done was that the gargoyles were supposed to be stored in the basement of the church, formerly known as the Chestnut Street Congregational Church, until funds were available to restore them.

But Mr. Rolle said the gargoyles were never stored in the church basement and instead were taken to Monaco's warehouse in Southbridge for storage. The city was never informed that they were being taken out of the city.

Monaco then filed for bankruptcy in July 2009; it was finalized this past January.


According to court documents, Monaco owed $810,113 to creditors but was only able to pay $23,227 on those claims.

The Monson Savings Bank, which had $769,589 in claims against Monaco, seized the company's assets and scheduled a liquidation auction for all its property, equipment and belongings.

The auction was conducted in February 2012 at the Monaco site by Aaron Posnik & Co. Inc.

Among the items advertised to be auctioned were the eight gargoyles, in two lots of four each.

Ms. Packard said the gargoyles were withdrawn from the auction, though she was not sure of the reason.

Preservation Worcester contacted city officials on Sept. 19 about the missing gargoyles and advised the city that the pieces had been removed from the church basement at some point and their location could not be determined.

Ms. Packard said Liberty Church's current executive pastor, the Rev. George Cladis, was not there when the gargoyles were taken down in 2006 and was unaware of the history behind their removal.


"The current pastor did not have any knowledge of the gargoyles because there was not a paper trail at the church so things could be reconstructed," she said.

In addition to the gargoyles, Ms. Packard said, the stones that supported them on the towers are also missing.

Contact Nick Kotsopoulos at nicholas.kotsopoulos@telegram.com. Follow him on Twitter @nckotsopoulos

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Hear! Hear! And all you guys who criticize 70. That FBI training appears to be bearing fruit. Atta boy, ncaam! Fr. K would be proud of you!

What are you talking about?

If you are suggesting that Monaco somehow came into possession of the HC bell, Monaco was a masonry company, which is why they had the gargoyles.  There is no reason for them to have a bell.

The founder of Monaco died three years ago, at age 54;  he was divorced.  His daughter, who lives in Long Beach CA became President of the company, but I suspect her role was to liquidate the business.

 

Simple calls to the Preservation Worcester, the T&G writer and the Monson Bank to see if any stolen property besides the gargoyles were stored there. Not saying anything else was there, but worth 3 telephone calls.