Taking a trip up to the top floor of Old Main, one can stumble across a piece of CU prank history.
According to the Old Main history center, students from the Colorado School of Mines pulled off a historic practical joke when in 1948 they stole the 1,000 pound bell which used to hang in the Old Main tower.
The bell was cast and installed in 1877, and for the 52 years during which it was in commission, it rang for important events like commencements. The history center also shows that freshmen men also rang the bell after each football game. It was such an occasion in 1928 that led to the development of a crack in the original bell after it was rung for eight hours straight after an especially exciting football game.
The bell was then replaced and moved to Carlson Gymnasium, where it stayed mounted until 1948. In that year it went missing, only to be discovered two years later buried on the CSM campus inscribed with a large “M”.
The bell was returned after its excavation in 1950, and now sits on display in the Heritage Center. Visitors to the Old Main building can see it in all its glory, with the crack and marking still clearly visible.
Hana Fancher, a freshman engineering major, said she doesn’t question CSM’s capabilities when it comes to moving large objects.
“I am sure an engineer from the School of Mines could figure it out,” Fancher said.
Contact CU Independent Freelance Writer Tim Kelly at Timothy.m.Kelly@colorado.edu.
