My Favorite Recipes

A bell sounded at the St. John’s Academy reunion last weekend, and former students of all ages perked up and looked for the source of the familiar sound that signaled the start and end of the school day. Mel Riedner grinned when he produced the old bell, which only the sisters and lay teachers rang.

Since many students remembered a slightly larger bell, the quest was on for its location. The larger bell was rung at the end of recesses outside, and someone had to know where it was. Kay Hinnenkamp VanDyke now owns it, but didn’t bring it to the reunion because the handle has too fragile a connec...