BOYLE — Sometimes you don’t know what you're missing, until it’s gone.
For decades, maybe even as far back as the time the fire station was built in the Village of Boyle, residents have been able to tell exactly when the clock strikes noon with the ringing of the familiar siren emanating from the centre of town, but for the last year, it has been silent.
But no longer, says Boyle mayor Colin Derko, saying he hoped it would be an easy fix.
“It's an initiative that the whole council wants,” Derko told the Advocate June 18. "It's such a unique feature and people have just kind of become used to it. And then with this whole COVID thing everybody kind of lost focus on what the hell was going on in the world.
“We got an electrician to come in because there were some wiring issues, and that was basically the timer. So, as of right now it does work, but what happens is when it kicks in at noon, it doesn't want to kick out."
The possibility of the bell coming back received mixed reviews from residents though. Beverly Harris and Randy Gladu, for instance, said they’d be happy if they never had to hear it again.
“I live across from the fire hall and I say ‘no,’” Harris said in a text June 20. “I don’t want it on; it should be used for emergency only. It is too loud for our neighbourhood. It has been nice not hearing it.”
Others like Joe Dorcas and Candy Nikipelo say they've miss the bell.
“My wife and I moved into Boyle October 29 of ‘17 and we heard the bell every day for the longest time and all of a sudden no more,” said Dorcas. “I’d rather hear the bell than the train.”
Nikipelo views the bell as bringing the community together, even if it did elicit teasing from outsiders.
“People have gotten used to it,” she said. “They've gotten teased throughout time a little bit; newcomers come and say, ‘Oh, the village people now know when they go out to eat lunch’ but anybody new to town just can't understand the logic of it, but it's a tradition that many didn't want to lose.”
She noted every town has its quirks and the Boyle bell is no different.
“Anything to make the world a more positive place,” she said.
As for Dorcas, he just finds it handy.
“You don't have to set an alarm; you always know that you'll be woken up at noon at least,” he quipped.
A decision will be made at the next council meeting July 4 depending on what the electrician found and what the cost will be.
“It's going to be an agenda item for us because obviously if there's any money that needs to be spent or whatever we want to make sure that it’s (fixed),” said Derko.
