By Kurt Menk
Editor
Ringing the bells at St. John’s Lutheran Church, rural Arlington, has been a tradition for the Nagel and Schneider families for the past 125 years.

The two bells were installed in the old church, located northwest of the current church, in 1892. One bell weighs 2,400 pounds while the other bell weighs 2,000 pounds.

The bells bear the name of the congregation  and are inscribed with Bible passages. The heavier bell has the “Glory to God in the highest” inscription. The inscription on the lighter bell is “Faith, Hope, Charity.”

Howard Schneider’s grandfather, Martin Nagel, was the first bell ringer at the original church.

Find the complete story in the September 21, 2017 edition of the Arlington Enterprise.