Schools

Historic Clise Bell Ready to Toll Once Again for Redmond Touchdowns

RHS student Logan John designed and constructed a new brick base for the 100-year bell as part of his Eagle Scout project.

One-hundred years after it was first installed near , the Clise Family Redmond Bell has a new home near the football field thanks to the Eagle Scout project of RHS sophomore Logan John.

The bell, which turns 100 this year along with the city of Redmond and the Eagle Scout award itself, was comissioned in 1912 by Anna Clise, founder of Seattle Children's Hospital and one of the original residents of .

At a ceremony Wednesday, descendants of Clise joined Lake Washington School District representatives and current and former city officials at a dedication ceremony for the bell's new brick base.

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Logan, 15, said he selected the bell for his Eagle Scout project because of the way it directly tied in with his community. Β 

"This relates to my school, so I thought it would be a good thing to do," he said.

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Logan and his family started the project last summer. Reel Construction, the company building the addition at the high school, donated equipment for the project and helped with some of the work.

The bell has a long history and was most recently used to celebrate Mustang football touchdowns. But it sat dormant for the past few years while officials looked for a new spot to place itΒ after the football field was renovated.

Former Redmond Mayor Christine Himes, who currently serves as president of the , lived next to the high school campus in the 1960s and still remembers hearing the touchdown bell from her house.Β 

"It was fun to know, 'oh, they got a touchdown,'" Himes said. "Now it's really nice that they have a home for it."

A plaque on the new base reads: "Returning the tradition of the RHS Mustang spirit."

Anna Clise's great-grandson Al Clise attended the ceremony with other family members and said he did not even know the bell existed until Logan contacted him. The Clise family is grateful to Logan for ensuring the bell will have a permanent home at RHS for years to come, Al Clise said.

"My family is very proud to be part of this," he said. "It's a great result. I can't think of a better one."


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