On the morning of Thursday, March 25th, the “The Netherlands Carillon” bells recovered from Arlington (USA) were packed again at Klokkengieterij Koninklijke Eijsbouts in Asten to be shipped to America.
Founder Bell Joost Eijsbouts and his staff look back with satisfaction on an honorable and successful restoration and extension mission.
Representatives of Klok & Peel Museum and Singing Bronze Foundation bid farewell to the bells. The museum temporarily has a number of Arlington clocks in the house to display to the public in the “Clocks for America” exhibition. Given aura scales, this beautiful exhibit – a joint project of the museum, Singing Bronze Foundation, and Koninklijke Eijsbouts – has not yet attracted the attention it deserves. The museum hopes to offer a tailored service to the public when the coronavirus measures are relaxed.
Recovery
The 50 “The Netherlands Carillon” bells arrived at the Eijsbouts bell foundry more than a year ago to reconnect and restore them. This was necessary because this tractor, which overlooks the famous Arlington National Cemetery near Washington, D.C., was marked by the ruin of time. But not only that. The Dutch Carillon was a gift from the Dutch people to America in the middle of the last century as a thank you for its role in liberating the Netherlands in World War II and for helping Marshall.
To emphasize the national character of the resounding gift, the bells were cast by the three bell foundries in the Netherlands. This turned out to be a flaw in a project that had a lot of setbacks, however well-intentioned. In the end, the Netherlands did not become the Carillon the high-quality musical instrument our country had wanted to introduce. By resetting the smallest bells, attempts were already being made to make them a homogeneous whole, but there was always something to be desired. It turns out that it is imperative that all watches be returned to the Netherlands to be handled by the experts. Additionally, the bell had to be expanded by three bells for best results. All this happened last year at Royal Eijsbouts in Asten. All the necessary work has now been completed, which is why the watches and accessories were packed in two naval containers Thursday morning on a safe flight to the United States, with great interest from the press. The three new bells that were thrown to expand the device have already been shipped. Named after George Marshall, Eleanor Roosevelt and Martin Luther King respectively, these watches will be on temporary display at the Dutch Embassy prior to assembly.
The intent is to install 53 bells in the bell in the coming months in the bell tower, which has also been restored. Then, “The Netherlands Carillon” will be able to spread its sounds in full glory for the first time over Arlington National Cemetery, the holiest land in the United States. The reinstallation is expected later in the year.
Exhibition
Meanwhile, the “Clocks for America” exhibition at Klok & Peel Museum continues to tell the full story of The Netherlands Carillon in smells and colors. The illustrated book “Klokken voor Amerika” by Professor Diederik Oostdijk is also available for virtually nothing in the museum’s library and via the museum’s website. After the museum doors reopen, the exhibition can be visited in the coming months.
For current information, see www.museumklokenpeel.nl.
