LOCH LOMOND — Our Lady of the Lake Catholic Church will hold a dedication ceremony for the church”s new bell tower at its 4 p.m. mass on Saturday.
The event is open to the public.
The bell was cast in 1876 by the W.T. Garratt Foundry in San Francisco. The bell was purchased for the church when it was built in 1952 in memory of Lilburn Robert Prather”s mother, Harriet Herren Prather but was never installed. It remained in the Prather family”s possession for 61 years where it was used as a camp cook shack bell at the Prather logging camp and to call in the sheep on the Prather”s ranch.
Recently, the grandson of Harriet, L.R. Prather Jr., approached the church members to donate the bell back to the church. With the help of John and Magdalena Morris and other church members, a permit was obtained, funds were raised and construction of an 18-foot bell tower began in March. Two parish members, Juan Salazar and Rolando Perez, donated their labor for its construction. The bell was placed in the tower on April 8 by Ken Gifford.
The bell rang for the first time during the church”s holy week services.
The church is located at 12836 Highway 175 in Loch Lomond.
