Did you know that the Paul Nally Observation Deck can be rented for $50 for a 2 hour period?  This would be a perfect place to enjoy the autumn weather for a special occasion.  The Bell Tower Community Foundation has 12 chairs and several tables that can be used to host a coffee, lunch, or evening for a group of friends or family.  A number of restaurants in Jefferson are available to cater or you can bring your own food and drinks.

Contact the Chamber of Commerce at 515-386-2155 for more information and to schedule a date.

Enjoy the beautiful view from the Paul Nally Observation Deck in the Mahanay Memorial Carillon Tower this fall.  Open from 10 am – 4 pm every Saturday and Sunday in September and October, the Tower staff will share the story of Floyd and Dora while you listen to the bells play each hour.  The harvest and fall foliage is spectacular along with the three rooftop art installations that can only be seen from the top of the tower.  Live Tower Tune Concerts are played by local musicians on Saturdays and Sundays from 12:15 – 12:30 pm.  The Westminster Chimes play each hour and quarter hour.  Two tunes are played after the hour throughout the day.  Between the view and the bells, a visit to Jefferson is certainly worth the drive.

Tour groups of all ages and sizes are welcome to make an appointment to tour the tower.  Considering the size of the group, Pat Richards, the staff coordinator would make sure there are more staff members to make the tour run smoothly.  Call the Chamber of Commerce at 515-386-2155 to get the ball rolling on a visit to Jefferson and include the Mahanay Tower among other great destinations in Jefferson and Greene County.

Upcoming groups coming in August are classes of children from the Early Learning Center, and a  Mystery Tour of about 30 people on a bank sponsored tour from Storm Lake.  In July, a bank in Des Moines had 48 people make a day of being in town.  There are often groups of ladies spending the day in Jefferson with the Tower as part of their itinerary.

Tours are available throughout the year even after the Mahanay Tower closes for the season. Labor Day will end the daily hours for the tower but it will be open the weekends in September and October from 10 am – 4 pm.

The Tower Tunes Live Concerts daily from 12:15 – 12:30 pm have been so successful.  Residents plan to be downtown around the square to listen to the tunes.  Visitors time their visits to include this special concert.  People have found their favorite places to experience this live music.  Quite a few sit in their cars with the windows rolled down.  Others bring lawn chairs to the courthouse lawn to sit in the shade and listen.  The benches around the courthouse are occupied by Tower Tunes concert goers.

Quite a few of the musicians have enjoyed playing a theme such as songs from movies, love songs, songs from TV shows, musicals, and composers.  Twenty-six people have played the Carillon so far with musicians from surrounding communities and states.  Most have felt more comfortable after playing it the first time.  Those interested in playing the Carillon should send an email to mahanaybelltower @gmail.com and you’ll receive a link to a Doodle calendar to sign up to play.  Musicians must have 15 minutes of music prepared to play for the Tower Tunes Concert.  We can make arrangements for a practice time prior to the Concert.

On June 9, 2017, Bell Tower Community Foundation President Carole Custer presented the new four octave carillon to the Board of Supervisors.  She also announced the observation deck will now be known as the Paul E. Nally Observation Deck in honor of friend and donor to the Foundation, Paul Nally.

Paul passed away ten years ago and left money through his estate to a number of great causes in the county.  He made a large impact with his time and talents during his life in Jefferson.  With these funds as a catalyst, the projects and fundraising leading to the completion of the Let the Bells Ring campaign came to fruition.  A plaque was read and installed in the observation deck of the tower at the 2017 Opening Cermonies of the Bell Tower Festival.

Friends and family members including Bob Owens were introduced to the large crowd.

Rick Morain played the first live concert of the Mahanay Memorial Carillon Tower on Friday, June 9, 2017 as part of the Opening Cermonies of the 2017 Bell Tower Festival.  Rick played a variety of tunes for the large crowd gathered around the tower from 6:15- 6:30 pm.  Selections included

America the Beautiful, Ode to Joy, Green Green Grass of Home, The Whiffenpoof Song, The Water is Wide, Devoted to You, Simple Gifts (Appalachian Spring), Danny Boy, Misty, and Great Gate of Kiev.

Rick played a follow-up concert on Saturday at 3:15 pm playing some of the same selections.

On Sunday, Rick played the first Tower Tunes Daily Concert at 12:15 pm.  His selections included:

Summertime, As Time Goes By, Galway Bay☘️, You’ve Got a Friend, Jamaica Farewell, The Entertainer, Sloop John B, Honky Tonk Woman, and finishing with his favorite, The Great Gate of Kiev.

The Memorial Day weekend of 2017 will be remembered for the installation of the long awaited four octave carillon.  Five bells were already in place and playing the Westminster Chimes since August of 2016.  The Verdin Company of Cincinnati, Ohio was the contractor to cast the 18 bells in Holland, put the strikers in all of the bells and transport to downtown Jefferson.  All of the bells were engraved with donor names or messages.  Those are all listed on this website.

Wade Weiss, Greene County Engineer, was the project manager overseeing this amazing project.  He coordinated the large crane used to hoist the bells to the top of the tower.  Verdin employees attached the bells throughout the weekend.  All was completed on Memorial Day.  A large number of residents and visitors enjoyed watching the show of raising the bells to the top.  Many remarked being there in 1966 when the first 14 bells were put in position.  This was history in the making!

The next step will be checking the entire carillon system to make sure all bells are in perfect working order.  The programed recordings of bell music will now be able to play the real bells.  Live Tower Tunes Concerts are being planned with local musicians providing the talent.  The daily concerts will also be recorded to play on the bells again.

The Bell Tower Community Foundation has worked with the Greene County Board of Supervisors and City of Jefferson to complete this goal of the four octave carillon in Jefferson.

The bells for the Mahanay Memorial Carillon Tower will begin to be installed on Thursday, May 25 in Jefferson.  The large crane was set in place on Wednesday morning with paint and electrical work completed.  The fifteen smaller bells that have been housed in the Greene County Courthouse for about 20 years were returned from the Verdin Company in Cincinnati, Ohio on Wednesday engraved with the donor names and fitted with strikers.  The remainder of the bells to complete the four octave, 47 bell carillon will arrive on Thursday morning and the installation will begin.  This process could take up to three days but the goal is to have everything in place by May 31.

Beta Tau Delta is celebrating its 100th anniversary in a big way, paying for the elevator to the top of the Mahanay Memorial Carillon Tower for all persons 18 and younger for the coming year. The group presented a check Monday to the Bell Tower Community Foundation to cover that cost.

Local children have always been the beneficiaries of Beta Tau Delta’s fundraising efforts, and according to Beta Tau Delta president Darla Johnson, the group decided to increase donations rather than spend money to celebrate themselves.

Pat Richards, volunteer supervisor of the bell tower, said she hosted 50 preschoolers at the tower last week, with their visit made possible by the Betas’ donation. “They probably would never have the chance to be in such a unique structure. Free admission for children is quite a positive thing for grandparents, parents, and teachers,” she said.

from GreeneCountyNewsOnline