Presenting the Alderwood Manor Heritage Association Bell Choir

The holidays are a time for joy and festivities, a time for celebration, and to enjoy the people around you. When we think of holidays, we tend to think of families and friends. But it can also be a time to enjoy the company of the people around you you’re not related to. For example, a board of directors.

I think all of us on the board of directors felt the holiday spirit this morning, and when you walk in to the AMHA cottage this time of year, how can you not? The railings of Heritage Park are decked out in beautiful garlands, our Christmas tree was twinkling, and even the Pegasus Patrol trophy was festooned in silver garland. This morning just felt different from the other board meetings, especially with Kevin — our VP — entering the room by singing “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas.”

In honor of the festive spirit, and the final board meeting of the year, Cheri — our president — brought us presents. Presents! Who doesn’t love presents? We were each given an oddly shaped roll, and led through instructions of how to open it properly (“First you have to reach in and pull out the cardboard. Next, there’s a strip of paper. No, don’t pull it yet!”).

Beth is surprised by the pop! noise when she opens her present.

Beth is surprised by the pop! noise when she opens her present.

Inside, we each found a little, brightly-colored bell, sheet music that turned in to a crown, and a slip of paper with jokes and trivia (“What is the best thing about deadly snakes? They’ve got poisonality.” *rimshot*).

Sandy and Sharon don their music crowns.

Sandy and Sharon don their music crowns.

 

Gary practices his bell ringing.

Gary practices his bell ringing.

Cheri pointed out that each bell had a number on it, and she then gave us a sticker that corresponded to our bell’s number.

Bell #2.

Bell #2.

Then came the moment of truth. Why do we have bells with numbers? Because they make up a bell choir! Cheri pulled out a sheet of music that had numbers where the notes would be. Each of our bells represented a musical note, and we were going to play a song with our bells!

We lined up in order of our number, and Cheri took the lead, complete with a plastic conductor’s baton. Our first musical selection was the appropriate “Jingle Bells,” with Gary L. (bell #3) as lead bell-ringer. After we finished, we decided to do another from Cheri’s magical music sheet, so we performed “Three Blind Mice” (opting not to attempt “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious”). Next was time to celebrate Sandy’s birthday, so out came “Happy Birthday.” We had so much fun, we went through “Jingle Bells” one more time!

Betty (center) rings her blue bell as (left to right) Sharon, Gary R., Kevin, Beth, and Sandy K. follow Conductor Cheri's baton.

Betty (center) rings her blue bell as (left to right) Sharon, Gary R., Kevin, Beth, and Sandy K. follow Conductor Cheri’s baton.

It’s nice to get to bond with our fellow board members. We work hard during the year to bring you the best experiences about the history of the Alderwood Manor area, but it’s also nice to get to goof around. 🙂

Happy holidays from the Alderwood Manor Heritage Association board of directors!

Happy holidays from the Alderwood Manor Heritage Association board of directors!


6 thoughts on “Presenting the Alderwood Manor Heritage Association Bell Choir

  1. Good job, Tiffany. The goofiness brightened up a rather dreary morning. Just goes to prove that board meetings don’t always have to be serious business. Thanks, Cheri, for the crowns and bells.

  2. Hey, Tiffany!! Thanks for the profile. I’m sure our dedicated members looking at our website on a regular basis will get a kick out of this. If not, their loss. You bring a fresh breath of life to AMHA. I appreciate you.

  3. Indeed, board meetings don’t always have to be boring!

    Thanks for the bells, Cheri! You always surprise me with your creative gifts (and I didn’t even mention the rubber chicken key chains!)!

  4. Aw, thank you so much, Gary!

    I hope that our members and readers get half as much fun out of reading about our bells as we had playing them! What a fun way to start the morning!

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