Watching the Old Main bell descend from its historic berth, Emily Enders said she was excited to be present at the event.
"It's timeless and has so much history," Enders (junior-French and communication arts and sciences). "It makes me proud to be a part of this great university."
The Old Main bell was rung Thursday for the first time since 1929, minutes after being removed from its 79-year home in Old Main's tower. It will be restored as the Class of 2009's senior class gift.
About 50 people watched as a giant crane lifted the bell out of the tower and brought it to the ground, just a few feet in front of the crowd.
Avery Peechatka and Jill Caffrey, members of the 2009 Senior Class Gift Committee, were the first people to ring the bell.
"It's cool to be the first ones to have rung it since 1929," Peechatka, Class of 2009, said.
Some students might be surprised to learn the ringing they hear every fifteen minutes isn't actually the Old Main bell but chimes inside the tower. The bell had not been rung since the last day of classes in June 1929 and has hung in the tower since the completion of the current Old Main in 1930, said Michael Bezilla, university director of advancement projects and communications.
The Class of 2009 hopes that other generations will be able to learn about the bell and potentially hear it in the future if its condition allows, said Caffrey, Class of 2009.
Students raised about $200,000 for the gift, Bezilla said.
"To me, that's the most remarkable part of this whole story," he said.
William Blake and Co. in Boston cast the bell in 1871. Historians don't know when the bell was acquired by the university, but they can guess that it has been at Penn State since 1892 because of century-old graffiti, Bezilla said.
Indeed, the bell has seen plenty of graffiti. The number "12" is still visible from when the class of 1912 painted it, and Bezilla said some students have even etched their names or years of graduation inside of the bell.
But other rumors -- including one that alleges students put water in the bell and froze it so that the bell wouldn't ring -- can be soundly dismissed, Bezilla said.
After being restored, the bell will be brought back to Penn State and placed on display near Old Main, hopefully in time for the 2010 Blue and White game, Peechatka said.
