This page will  spotlight items in the Newsletter.  Each issue of our quarterly newsletter has a
spotlight article on an organization, item, building or business.  We also  feature some of the early pioneers and citizens of Goodhue.   Please check these spotlights periodically as they will change, but to receive more frequent spotlights,  please become a member as they are published in the Membership Newsletter. 

                                                                                  

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THE GOODHUE
LIBERTY BELL
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  • ​When you walked into the Goodhue High School you would see a bell on a table.  Do you know where the bell came from?  How did Goodhue get the bell the bell?  It all happened in 1975 as our country was preparing to celebrate its bicentennial.  Dave Swenson, a 1948 Goodhue graduate, contacted then superintendent Arnold Schultz and suggested that Goodhue purchase a replica of the Liberty Bell for $2450.  Mr. Schultz's first reaction was "You've got to be kidding."

  • However after talking with Vaughn Bien who was Goodhue's mayor, the two men decided it would be a good focal point for the bicentennial celebration in Goodhue and could also be used to instill patriotism in the school children.  They presented the idea to the Goodhue Community Bicentennial Committee.  The committee decided to raise money by selling Liberty Bell shares.  Adult shares were $17.76 and anyone under age 18 could buy a share for $1.76. 

  • The bell was cast in Holland and then finished by the I.T. Verdin Company in Cincinnati.  The company planned to make 2400 replicas of the Liberty Bell, but because of technical problems made just several hundred.  Each bell was numbered.  Dave Swenson was instrumental in getting the third bell made for Goodhue.  The White House was given the first bell and the sponsor got the second bell.  The bell was unveiled at the Goodhue Lions Barbeque on August 17, 1975.
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  • The Goodhue bell weighs 270 pounds and is an exact replica of the Liberty Bell, but is smaller.  It was build on a 3/8 scale.  The wooden yoke on which it is mounted is made of the same slippery elm wood as the original.  Like the Liberty Bell, our bell has a crack, but since it does not penetrate all the way through, the Goodhue bell can be rung. 

  • Earl Campbell, the local editor, drove to Cincinnati to get the bell.  Ed Lodermeier and Rodney Voth mounted the bell on a cart once used to draw the early fire equipment.  The bell was pulled in the Goodhue Bicentennial parade by four students clad in colonial garb.  The cart was preceded by three students carrying a fife, drum and flag.  In June the High School Band and the Liberty Caisson participated in the Lake City Water Ski Days Parade.  On July 5, 1976 the band and the Liberty Bell were honored to be the first unit in the County Bicentennial Parade.

  • The Goodhue Liberty Bell is now protected in a plexi glass case made by Glen Mehrkens and is on display in the library at the Goodhue Area Historical Society Museum. 







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