The Old North Church

On Friday a group of us were able to go down to the Old North Church for a private tour. The NEHGS has some kind of joint project going on with the group that manages the Old North Church and so we had an "in" to see some things most people don't get to see when they visit there.

To begin with we started our adventure as usual on the "T". Every adventure around here pretty much starts that way. We arrived at the stop where we needed to get off and began the walk over to the church. It was about 5 blocks or so. You can never really tell about the blocks in the North End of Boston because they are laid out so unusually. As we were walking, it started to rain. By the time we got to the church, it was coming down in buckets along with thunder and lightning. We got a little soaked. No one thought to bring an umbrella. I left mine at the office.

When we got to the church, we began our tour in the basement looking at the old crypts. That's a great place to be on a stormy, thundering afternoon. It just added to the ambiance. From the crypt we went up to the main chapel and were told about the different changes it had gone through since its creation. One of the things one of my colleagues was interested in were the various owners of the pews. This made me think of church today. Even though they don't have our names on them, doesn't each family still have their own special pew. What's the reaction in your church when someone sits where you and your family always sit??

Back to the tour. After the chapel, we went up to the archive room which is no longer in use. All the important papers that used to be there have now been moved to the Massachusetts Historical Society. From there we went up some narrow wooden stairs to the bell ringers' room. There were 8 cords hanging from the ceiling that are attached to the bells. We were given a short lesson on how the bell ringers play their melodies. There were even song charts on the wall to follow along. Each bell has a number and you would use the chart to indicate which bell is rung in which sequence. It was quite impressive. According to our guide, Paul Revere was a bell ringer at the church in his teen years. She had a copy of a signed agreement that a group of bell ringers had signed which include Paul Rever. This would explain how he knew all about the church tower. He undoubtedly remembered his experiences there and the view from the top of the tower and knew it would be the perfect place for a signal light. (Please remember that Paul Revere was not the one who put the lanterns in the tower. He only gave the instructions as to the signal process and then saw the lanterns and set out to warn the countryside).

Our next destination was up the stairs and ladders (about 4 or 5 flights of them in all) to the tower. It was quite the climb. The ladders were dusty, narrow, and all made of wood. Don't look down on your way up. The view was definitely the reward for having made the climb, however, because the view from the tower was spectacular. We could see all of Boston and the surrounding area. The perfect place for a signal for all to see.

We lingered in the tower for several minutes. I took several pictures and then sadly we had to come back down. What a great day! I don't know why I get to have all these wonderful experiences but I thank my Heavenly Father everyday for them.