Gallatin Gateway’s historic school bell returns

Town Crier “Briefs from the Region” (2) – 4/23/21

In 1914, the exterior of the Gallatin Gateway School featured a large metal bell that would call the community’s students to and from class. In the 1970s, the building’s tower became too decrepit to hold it, so it was announced that whoever could get it down could keep the bell as a prize. That person was rancher and former schoolhouse student, Ed ter Telgte, who took it with in his move to Columbus, where it lived with his family. Local Morgan Stuart did a little digging and found the Telgte family, and with their blessing, recently returned the bell to it’s former home. Although it’s yet to be decided where the bell will hang, the Gallatin Gateway community is excited to have restored a piece of its history.

“I feel like with our valley changing so much and a lot of emphasis on new structures and tearing down the old, it’s important to return the bell,” Stuart told the Bozeman Daily Chronicle. “It’s teaching our kids that we can save things and there’s a historical value that’s meaningful to the community.”