What are those bells and chimes so many have been hearing?
/The Sherman Building and clock tower on the grounds of the Armed Forces Retirement Home in Petworth (photo courtesy of the AFRH)
With quarantine in DC came a bit more quiet during the day. Less cars on the street, less people walking around, less overall noise. You heard the birds much more (even if they’re actually singing quieter than normal). In May into June, people started hearing bells chiming during the day, bells they thought they haven’t heard before, or heard in a long time.
Those bells are not new, but they were louder than normal for a period of time. The regular chimes that started to be heard around the neighborhood are coming from the Armed Forces Retirement Home (AFRH) off of Rock Creek Church Road, as they have been for decades.
Affectionately known as the Old Soldier’s Home, the AFRH has been serving retired US military veterans since 1851, before the US Civil War (and before this area was called Petworth). President Abraham Lincoln would use a few of the buildings on the property to get away from downtown DC (one of which, Lincoln’s Cottage, is now a wonderful museum and was where Lincoln worked on the Emancipation Proclamation).
In the middle of all the residential buildings on the Home’s property is the Sherman building with its bell tower, and it’s that bell tower that stirred up a bunch of questions from area residents this summer when they started to hear bells throughout the day. Many asked why they were hearing them now, seemingly all of a sudden.
The Sherman building in the snow (photo: Petworth News)
“I’ve heard them every day for the past four years, and was surprised by the questions people started asking recently,” said Christopher Kelly, the public affairs officer for the Armed Forces Retirement Home. “The Sherman building’s clock tower marks the time every hour and half hour between 7am and 9pm daily.”
“For the last 20 years, and perhaps much longer, at about 11:45 am daily, the chimes begin playing the Armed Forces Medley, the Service songs for each of the five branches,” Kelly said. “When played as a medley, the order is as follows: Army: ‘The Army Goes Rolling Along’; the Marine Corps ‘The Marine's Hymn’; the Navy’s ‘Anchors Aweigh’; the Air Force’s ‘Official US Air Force Song’; and the Coast Guard’s ‘Semper Paratus.’”
Kelly said that the chimes have gone silent from time to time when they needed to be serviced. Because of the nature of the federal procurement process, the downtime can get protracted as they get the services from a specialized vendor, the Verdin Company, founded in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1842.
“Our understanding is that the Verdin Company may have installed the original bells, and has been repairing the clock and chimes ever since,” Kelly said.
The Verdin Company removed old, non-functioning bells and replaced the old clock mechanism with a new clock tower audio system about ten years ago. The sound of the bells are now amplified through enormous speakers, while the gear system for the clock is smaller today.
Recently, the bells were repaired, and so had not been ringing. Earlier this summer, they started to ring again as they were “tuned” and the amplified volume was higher. Combine the work on the bells with the quieter local environment, and the sound of the chimes traveled further around the neighborhood. That’s when people home with the quarantine started to notice the louder-than-usual chimes during the late morning, and throughout the day on the hour.
“We typically set the volume at mid-range, once tested, to ensure noise levels that are considerate of our veteran residents and neighbors,” Kelly said.
President Lincoln’s Cottage on the left, with the bell tower rising over the trees (in non-Covid times). (Photo courtesy President Lincoln’s Cottage)
Along with the Friends of the Home, the local neighborhood association that partners with the AFRH, the Home has been hosting seasonal festivals for the community, including the Fall Fest, Spring Fling and the big July 4th gathering on their great lawn, for several years.
“We’re sad about not having fireworks this year as well as the other events,” Kelly said. “Hopefully things will change in the near future and we can welcome the local community back onto the property to celebrate with our residents.”
Luckily, due to quick actions and an early closure from outside visitors, the retirement home has been fortunate to not have had a single case of COVID-19 among their residents.
The Sherman building and clock tower (photo: Petworth News)
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