3/27/2005:
On this date in 1908, a young group called the Literary Society held a basket social to raise money to buy a bell for their schoolhouse belfry near Lankin, North Dakota. The bell arrived from the foundry embossed with the initials R.G.L.S., for Ramsey Grove Literary Society, and its pealing became a popular sound throughout the valley.
In 1954, the school was destroyed, and the bell laid unclaimed among the weeds for years. Donald Flaten was the son of one of the Literary Society’s members and grew up two miles from the farm. As a missionary, he came up with a new idea for the bell – send it to Africa. Back in North Dakota, the local Luther League agreed and raised $1,500 for crating and shipping. The bell now rings from among palm trees in the village of Balkoosa in Cameroon.
Source: Merrie Sue Holtan, The Bell with a Mission, The Lutheran Journal, p 26 (date unknown)
Dakota Datebook written by Merry Helm