BIDDEFORD — It’s been a long tradition in Biddeford that every time the Biddeford High School football team wins a game, people gather afterwards to ring the Victory Bell, in honor of the win. Team members, their parents and their fans look forward to this tradition after each game, but it was broken after a recent away-game win on Sept. 3 against Marshwood High School.
The Victory Bell, which had formerly been located on the grounds of Biddeford High School, had been moved to Waterhouse Field.
The move of the bell became a controversial issue between the Biddeford Athletic Association and the Biddeford School Department, as the bell had been moved without the knowledge or permission of School Department administration.
The bell had initially been taken down from its former location at the Brother Hebert Field by a construction crew working on the BHS renovation, to allow for work on some underground lines.
According to Biddeford Athletic Association President Ralph Toussaint, the bell had been removed without the association’s knowledge or permission, and was being stored behind a trailer on the construction grounds.
In order to be able to ring the bell after game victories, he said, volunteers with the athletic association and some school staff moved the bell.
Superintendent Sarah-Jane Poli Poli said she was concerned about the bell when she realized it was moved on the opening day of school. She said she spent a large part of the day trying to find out what happened to it.
After talking with a member of the athletic association, Poli said, she agreed to the temporary removal of the bell to Waterhouse Field, pending a vote by the School Committee.
Toussaint said Poli “overreacted” about the bell’s relocation.
“Everybody on my board is extremely upset” about how the matter was handled, he said.
On Tuesday, however, the matter appeared to come to an end. The School Committee gave approval to temporarily move the bell to Waterhouse Field until it can be relocated back to the high school in the fall of 2011.
There may be one sticking point, however. Some committee members were concerned about what would happen if the bell were damaged while at Waterhouse Field.
As part of the vote, the committee required that the bell be appraised and the Biddeford Athletic Association, if necessary, pay for any additional insurance.
Part of the issue with the bell’s move is that there is disagreement over who actually owns it.
Toussaint said he was told that the city donated the bell many years ago after it broke from being rung too many times. At that time, the bell was located at the J. Richard Martin Community Center on Alfred Street, which was first the former Biddeford High School and then site of the Biddeford junior high school.
Poli said that the bell is owned by the School Department.
She was a teacher when the junior high was moved and the discussion over where to move the bell took place, she said. It was eventually moved to the grounds of the existing high school in the 1980s.
No matter who owns the bell, both the School Committee and the Biddeford Athletic Association are now nin agreement that the Victory Bell should remain at Waterhouse Field, at least for the time being.
Poli said when the bell is moved back to the high school, it will be placed in the middle of a court yard that will be constructed during the renovation. When it is moved back to BHS, she said, the bell will be rung not only for football but to celebrate academics and other important events.
“It’s going to be beautiful,” said Poli.
— Staff Writer Dina Mendros can be contacted at 282-1535, Ext. 324 or dmendros@journaltribune.com.
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