History from the Bell Tower

The gargoyles wore beards of ice. Mary Clark noticed this detail through the early evening darkness as she pulled into a parking spot against the Cathedral close in January. The 82-year-old wondered how treacherous the sidewalks would be, particularly with the extra load of provisions she was carrying. The sandwiches and chips that she would haul up to the bell tower were not for tonight’s practice, however, but to stash away for use in two days’ time. The change ringers would not be allowed to bring food through security on the day of President Jimmy Carter’s funeral. Clark knew from experience how stringent security could be at these events. A handbag of hers became a casualty at the funeral of Anwar Sadat, when an overly zealous security guard pulled the zipper clean off. But after 55 years in the bell tower of the National Cathedral in Washington D.C., Clark is practiced in the art of state ceremonies. President Carter’s would be her fourth presidential funeral.