CAPE GEORGE – A local Canadian Armed Forces veteran has recovered most of a historic church bell stolen from St. David’s United Church after launching her own investigation within days of the theft, saying she “just wanted to get it back.”
In a phone conversation with The Journal on Monday night, Kate MacEachern chronicled the sequence of events that led to her retrieving pieces of the revered more than 100-year-old artifact.
“Ninety to ninety-five per cent of it,” she said, with an air of disappointment in her voice, when asked to confirm if the bell had been recovered.
Describing how it had been “smashed,” MacEachern estimated that 40 to 50 pieces have been returned to church officials and are now under lock and key.
In a March 24 press release, the Antigonish County District RCMP indicated they received a report from church officials on the morning of March 20 that a caretaker discovered the historic bell was missing from the St. David’s property. The preliminary investigation concluded that it had been lifted sometime between overnight March 18 and morning of March 20. They determined that the thieves used a grinder saw to remove the bell from its base and then loaded it onto a truck.
MacEachern – who lives in Ballatyne’s Cove, which neighbours Cape George – launched her probe in and around March 22 – when she found out how St. David’s had been violated. Coincidentally, if not surprisingly, a similar incident occurred almost one year earlier to the day – a bell was lifted from Holy Rosary Roman Catholic Church. The decorated veteran – who also put up one this time around – offered a reward for its recovery, no questions asked, and launched a tireless and dogged probe into its location. With her leading the campaign – one that focused on using security camera footage and social media – the Holy Rosary bell was found in neighbouring Pictou County and returned to the church.
“There were similarities,” she noted of the thefts that occurred in consecutive years.
MacEachern started making calls – gathering “the word on the street,” when it came to the St. David’s swipe. She collected names of people who potentially could have had something to do with the theft.
“I knew I was working against the clock,” she offered of reaching her goal of returning the bell in one piece, explaining that it doesn’t take long – once it ends up in the network – for the metals to be scrapped and then melted down.
MacEachern added, “If you don’t move fast, it’s gone,” noting how she phoned “every metal scrapper” in the region, with each indicating that they “hadn’t seen [the bell].”
With hope wavering as a few more days passed by – and more word coming in from her contacts – she was hearing that the bell had been smashed. By the end of the week, MacEachern received word the pieces, at least most of them, were located in a Pictou County barn.
“I genuinely thought it was over,” she remembered of the prospects of any recovery.
MacEachern, once again, “got on the phone,” and reconnected with the “scrappers.”
“I was very honest,” she said, reiterating her message that she didn’t want to get anyone into trouble.
Her goal, she added, “I just wanted to get it back.”
By the start of April, MacEachern secured a return of the bulk of the pieces from one of those scrappers. Initially, for a price, but she pointed out that person had a “change of heart” and did not take any money. She did end up paying for some pieces gathered from other sources, explaining that – with as many pieces as possible – it makes a potential restoration project much easier.
“It’s not bad at all,” MacEachern said of being able to retrieve approximately all but 20 or so pounds of metal from the 200-pound bell.
On both bell retrieval quests, she had Stephen Viscount by her side. Two years ago, the military veteran of almost 30 years move to Guysborough.
“He is my best friend,” MacEachern said, noting that they met four years ago while doing humanitarian work in the Ukraine.
She added, “He has pretty much adopted Ballantyne’s Cove as his own, and our community has more than welcomed him with open arms since day one.”
Describing it, with a laugh, as a “fun fact,” MacEachern noted that the pair “recovered stolen property for our community” for two straight years on Viscount’s birthday (April 1).
As for her investigative pursuits, she stressed that she was “not trying to undermine or insult the RCMP.”
MacEachern said, “I fully value and understand that they have the weight of the world stacked on them … especially currently.”
But, she reiterated, “I also understood that we were against the clock, knowing it was only a matter of time before the scraps were sent to the smelter and we would never see it again.
‘A place of recovery’
She affectionately reflected on returning to her childhood home – Ballantyne’s Cove – after retiring from the armed forces.
“It was a place of recovery,” MacEachern – who lives with severe PTSD – said, noting how the love and friendliness she found have been a key to improving on her health journey.
As for why she got passionate about doing everything she could to retrieve the stolen bells, she remembered “feeling so violated” – not only for her friends and neighbours, but also herself; the Holy Rosary theft coincided with items being taken from her property and the convenience store she operates.
“I wasn’t going to let that happen to my community – there was no way that I was going to take it laying down,” MacEachern said, noting that spirit was reignited with word of the St. David’s theft.
As for what’s next for the bell pieces, St. David’s officials are exploring options – including whether it is feasible to carry out a restoration. With the talented welders in the area, MacEachern indicated she is confident such a happy ending is possible.
Crafted in New York in 1855, the rich history of the St. David’s bell in Antigonish County dates to the late 1800s, when it was donated to the St. Ninian Street School by the MacNaughton family. When the school closed in the late 1960’s ownership returned to the family, who donated it to the United Church in Ballatynes Cove in 1983.
St. David’s – the sister of St. James United Church in downtown Antigonish – conducts services seasonally, mainly during the summer, along with Thanksgiving and Christmas celebrations.
As for the reaction of St. David’s officials to the recovery, she offered, “I think they are grateful, for sure,” describing the representatives from the church – such as trustee Valerie Chugg and Reverend Peter Smith – as “incredibly good people.” She noted that they met in recent days to discuss what’s next for the recovered pieces of iron, although MacEachern noted no decisions have been made.
Officials with St. David’s could not be reached for comment as of press time, while no update was received on the status of the RCMP investigation into the theft of the bell.
