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| Nestle Muller
Memorial Carillon |
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The Nestlé Company of Switzerland donated the 36-bell carillon as a symbol of gratitude for the friendship shown to the company and its employees when they established their headquarters in Stamford at the outbreak of World War II. The bells were cast by Gillett and Johnston of Croydon, England and installed in a temporary tower. They were dedicated on September 28, 1947 by Kamiel Lefevere and W. Raymond Randall.
In 1956, the carillon was disassembled and put into storage until 1967 when they were installed in a new 255-foot tall four-posted concrete tower.that was named after its donor, Walter N. Maguire. At the same time 34 new bells cast by the Georges Paccard Bell Foundry in Annecy-le-Vieux, France were installed and 14 of the original bells were removed, of which 2 were stolen and 12 were donated to the New Skete Monastery in Cambridge, New York, The carillon was rededicated on June 16, 1968 by James R. Lawson.
References
1947 "Grateful
Swiss Plant Donates Bell To Stamford," Record-Journal, April
28, 1947, Page 7.
1947 "Carillon for Gift," Kitsap Sun, May 1, 1947, Page 10.
1947 "Dedication of the Stamford Carillon," Bulletin of the Guild of Carillonneurs of North America 2(1):7 (December 1947)
1967 Walter Norman Maguire (15 Oct 1893 - 1 Jan 1967) grave
1967 "Music Spire is Finished by Copter," Hartford Courant, December 10, 1967, Page 2.
1968 "Impressive
Carillon to Be Heard," Hartford Courant, June 15, 1968, Page
21.
© 2023 Morris A. Pierce