Page 9 - The Bell Tower - Fall 2014

Iron Bell committee), a subcommittee of the UMFK Foundation committee. Records which President Fox, UMFK’s president in 1960, kept document the removal of the bell from the Cyr Hall tower, but nothing about where the uni- versity transported it.
Records also indicate that the university constructed Cyr Hall at a cost of $1,500, bell tower and all, said Dumond.
“It cost more to restore the bell than the whole building,” said Dumond in 2012, chuck- ling. Dumond, a professional financial planner knew restoring the bell was a good bet. The investment to restore the bell would bring a
return that was 3000 times that cost.
The bell traveled for about a year before it
came to rest in its new home, an unassuming gazebo near the sculpture on the quad.
During its travels, a special few received the honor of ringing the bell at events of sig- nificance, such as graduation, induction cer- emonies into the athletic hall of fame, home- coming, the Sucrerie, and UMFK Foundation dinners.
In July of 2013, “La Cloche de Fer” helped the University of Maine at Fort Kent receive the largest financial gift in its history, an endow- ment of more than $300,000 from the estate
of the late Esther C. Labbee.
In April of 2014, Irving Woodlands LLC
shattered the record again with a $1 million donation. By the time the campaign came to a close, Cloche de Fer rang in $5.7 million dollars, almost double the original goal of $3 million.
Today “La Cloche de Fer” rings out with less volume than it did in its heyday, but with newly endowed scholarships, alternative energy capital projects, and academic stewardship, students will be hearing the echoes of The Iron Bell for generations to come.
Left to right: Josh Philbrook, Irving Woodlands, LLC (IWLLC); Ken Cyr, IWLLC; Doug Cyr, IWLLC; James Roy, President of UMFK Foundation; Anthony Hourihan, IWLLC; Wilson Hess, President of University of Maine at Fort Kent; John Martin, Director UMFK Center for Rural Sustainable Development; Toby Pineo, IWLLC; Peter Tabor, IWLLC; and Roy Bernard, IWLLC
J.D. IRVING, LLC SETS THE RECORD
The University of Maine at Fort Kent received a record breaking leadership gift in its three comprehensive fundraising campaigns ̶ thelargestinuniversity history ̶ a $1million endowment from J.D. Irving LLC.
Land Development Director for J.D. Irving Anthony Hourihan made the announcement at the UMFK Foundation Annual Dinner, which capped off the “La Cloche de Fer” campaign. The funds will create an endowed professorship and establish a research center for sustainable,
outcomes-based forestry management and technology at the northern Maine university campus.
“J.D.Irving,LLCisaworld-class organization and this gift is one more indication of their commitment to the vitality of northern Maine,” said UMFK President Wilson G. Hess.
“The University offers the only accredited Applied Forest Management program in New England, related forestry, business management, and geospatial engineering support, and has a network of educational
partners to provide a comprehensive career ladder for forest industry training and education,” said Hess.
“ThishistoricgiftfromJ.D.Irvingpositions the University of Maine at Fort Kent to establish a center of excellence which will be a model for forest operations training and outcomes-based, sustainable forest management activities for decades to come,” said Hess.
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