The North Country Wind Bells Story

 

This is a family story, begun by Jim and May Davidson on the craggy Maine Coast, in the mid seventies. In the small village of Round Pond they, their family and neighbors, craft wind bells that echo the distinctive and familiar tones of coastal and harbor bells.

For many years, Jim like his neighbors, worked as a lobsterman. He spent countless hours on the water listening to the pounding surf and the constant warning of the bell buoys. After a time, it occurred to him, that others may also enjoy the reassuring sound of the bell buoys.

He began recording the sounds of the bell and gong buoys where he hauled his lobster traps, and then eagerly sought other bells in the region. After painstakingly working pieces of steel to match the tones, he produced his first set of bells: The Boothbay Harbor®, Camden Reach®, Bar Harbor®, Kennebunkport®, Pemaquid®, and the Nantucket® bells. These six bells recall the haunting, yet comforting sounds Jim experienced while working along the New England Coast. Over time, additional bells have been added to this impressive collection.

A special bell, The Island Pasture Bell®, is based on the dulcet tones of sheep and cattle bells common on several Maine islands where Jim and May once pastured their own sheep.

Each North Country Wind Bell® is based on Jim's and his family's interpretation of the gong and bell buoys in the areas for which they're named. Due to the wide variances in their tones, their groupings have resulted in a single, double and triple-toned bell. Each is reminiscent of the magic they experienced in the water.