~ PVN staff report
LURAY, Jan. 9 — The 47 bells of the Luray Singing Tower tolled over the Page Valley on Thursday morning to mark the passing and funeral of former President Jimmy Carter. A short recital started at 8:45 a.m., followed by tolling of the bells one hour prior to Carter’s funeral service at 10 a.m. The bells tolled once per minute from 9 a.m. to 9:39 a.m. — 39 chimes to mark the passing of the 39th President of the United States.
Jason Perry, resident carillonneur of the Luray Singing Tower, said the previously unplanned event followed U.S. camponoligical protocol, which states carillons may perform a recital that finishes with “Hail to the Chief” and then the lowest (toned) bell is tolled once per minute.
“In Carter’s case, it is 39 times since he was the 39th president,” Perry said. “I was not asked to do this, just trying to be a dutiful carillonneur.”
Perry was hired by the Luray Parks Association (separate from the Town of Luray) in the summer of 2023. He studied at Westminster College in New Wilmington, Pa., as well as with David Breneman in Luray.
Luray’s Singing Tower stands some 117 feet tall just across Route 211 from Luray Caverns. Officially known as the Belle Brown Northcott Memorial, it was erected in 1937 by former caverns’ owner Colonel T.C. Northcott in memory of his wife. The largest bell weighs 7,640 pounds and is six feet in diameter. The smallest weighs a mere 12 1/2 pounds.
There are only about 180 carillons in the United States, and many of those are either not operational or do not have a resident carilloneur, according to Perry. Making the bells in Luray one of the nation’s “premiere carillons.”
To send a message to Perry at luraytower@gmail.com
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