This time in CMU history: Jan. 21, 1972
On Jan. 21, 1972, Central Michigan Life reported on the return of Central Michigan University’s clock chimes.
The now familiar automated chimes coming from the fourth-floor tower of Warriner Hall began as a homemade invention from CMU Audio Technician Tim Webb.
Using an old tape recorder, a stereo speaker and other spare parts, Webb rigged a system where recorded chimes would sound every fifteen minutes. The new chime music was recorded on the organ in St. Mary’s Chapel.
Webb designed the new system to toll the correct time every quarter hour from 8 a.m.-10 p.m. He also added an “oddball chime” into the system to signal the start of every new hour. The “oddball chime” was a series of tolls signaling the hour, but on a different octave from the other chimes.
The old bell system, in use since 1940, consisted of 12 real chimes with a microphone placed underneath. A campus legend persisted that the ghost of Warriner Hall would ring the bells. The system experienced frequent breakdowns until it went out of use in 1968.
Stated in the article, past CMU president Charles L. Anspach, President from 1939 to 1959, said the bells were originally a gift and almost immediately had mechanical difficulties. Former president Judson W. Foust, President from 1959 to 1968, said the bells were well-appreciated on campus at first and were originally used to signal the changing of class periods.
