Page 6 - Wayne Dispatch Pages

St. Mary Parish working

on fixing fallen bell tower

By Sarah Shurge Thankfully, no one was walking
If you’ve driven down W Michigan on the sidewalk outside the church
Ave lately, you might have noticed when the event occurred.
something different on the corner of The same day that the tower fell,
Third St. St. Mary Parish had a construction
Construction cones, caution tape, company come out and do emer-
barricades, and a cherry picker are gency reinforcement work to support
outside of St. Mary Parish, Wayne. the roof so it wouldn't fall any fur-
This is due to the fact that on Fri- ther.
day, July 12th, the bell tower col- “We needed to do something
lapsed. quick. We wanted to take care of
“The high winds knocked it everything before the car cruise that
down,” said Albert Damitio, St. Mary was the next day,” said Damitio.
Parish business manager. “The sup- Many different departments from
ports gave way, and when it fell, it the City of Wayne showed up to help.
pushed the bricks out, and was “We had a lot of support from the
wedged between the bell. The bell city,” said Damitio. “The city engi-
stopped it from falling and sup- neer, police department, fire depart- The bell tower at St. Mary’s Church
ported it.” ment, and DPW [Department of “We really appreciate the support 3,500-4,000 pounds, so for safety
The bell tower was built in 1923. Public Works] all gave a helping the city gave us. We had suggestions reasons, the team had to cut it up
“It was over 100 years old. It hand to prevent any further dam- and they provided expertise,” said and take it down in pieces.
didn’t owe us anything. It was old, so age.” Damitio. Midpoint Construction has There was a cross on top of the
what do you expect,” said Damitio. The DPW brought the barricades, been working on the bell tower to re- tower. St. Mary Parish asked the con-
“We were saved by the bell that we the fire department had a ladder pair the brick work and put rein- struction team to bring it down in
didn't have any more damage or that truck come out, and the city engineer forcement in the tower.
anyone was hurt.” worked with the on-site engineer. The tower was estimated at See St. Mary, page 14

6 · August 2024 · The Wayne Dispatch