Westminster College

Duff-Armington Memorial Carillon

Links to Carillon Inventories
GCNA	Tower Bells	Bok Tower Gardens

College trustee William M. Duff and his wife May Duff donated a twelve-bell Meneely chime in honor of their daughters, Charlotte and Letitia Duff. The bells were dedicated on Easter, April 21, 1935 by Meneely president Andrew E. Meneely..

A 2004 college publication states that "The original 12 bells – known collectively as chimes – were a gift to Westminster from William and Mary Duff in honor of their daughters, Charlotte and Letitia. Originally crafted for Delaware-DuPont Estate Gardens, the bells were never installed there due to the Depression. The Duffs purchased the bells and presented them to the College on Easter 1935." No other references to these bells being cast for DuPoint has been found and the DuPont Nemours Estate installed a Meneely carillon in 1936.

Katherine Stewart Armington. a member of the class of 1916 who did not graduate, was a college trustee from 1956 to 1968. She was awarded an honorary doctorate of humane letters at commencement ceremonies on May 29, 1977. She died on July 10, 1977 and at some point before or after her death she donated 23 Petit and Fritsen bells that were dedicated on June 2, 1978.

An additional seven bells were donated in 2006 by the class of 1956.

References
1935 "College Chimes in Easter Debut," The Pittsburgh Press, April 20, 1935, Page 10.
Will be played for the first time tomorrow morning.

1949 William McGill Duff (2 Feb 1878 - 10 Jan 1949) grave

1949 "W.M. Duff, Insurance Man, Dies," Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph, January 11, 1949, Page 44.
Trustee of Westminster College

1977 Katherine Sturgison Stewart Armington (17 May 1895 - 10 Jul 1977) grave

1977 "5 Alumni to get honorary degrees at Westminster," New Castle News, May 25, 1977, Page 13.
Mrs. Armington, the former Katherine Stewart, will receive the doctorate of humane letters. She has had a continuing interest in Westminster since 1910 when she enrolled in the preparatory department and the college. She attended Westminster until 1914, when her parents moved to California and she entered the University of Southern California, where she studied for one year. She completed her B.A. degree at the Flora Stone Mather College for Women at Western Reserve University in 1917. In 1956 she was elected to Westminster's Board of Trustees and served until her retirement in 1968, when she was elected an emeritus trustee. During her board tenure she served on the long range planning committee and missed only one meeting. In 1974 she received a distinguished alumni citation from Westminster.

1977 "Mrs. K. Armington," New Castle News, July 12, 1977, Page 3.

2004 "The Chimes of Your Life," Westminster College Magazine 24(1):15-17 (Summer 2004)
The original 12 bells – known collectively as chimes – were a gift to Westminster from William and Mary Duff in honor of their daughters, Charlotte and Letitia. Originally crafted for Delaware-DuPont Estate Gardens, the bells were never installed there due to the Depression. The Duffs purchased the bells and presented them to the College on Easter 1935. In 1978, Katherine Stewart Armington ’16, then a member of the Board of Trustees, presented 23 additional bells, bringing the total to 35.

2007 Westminster College, by Barbara Braden Guffey and Debora Swatsworth Foster
Page 62: Carillon bells and clavier

2018 A Look into the Carillon Guild

The Duff-Armington Memorial Carillon

Video of Westminster College Carillon

Westminster College: The Bells of Westminster documentary
At 1:36 The Katherine Stewart Armington Carillon Dedication Plaque is shown with the date, June 2, 1978