Area 8 History

The Past is Prologue:

The Early Era of Handbell Ringing in the United States
Laurie Austin, Area 8 Historian

With the 70th anniversary of Handbell Musicians of America coming up in 2024, we will use the next several issues of Quavers to look at the history of handbells, particularly in what is now Area 8. Long before there was a national handbell musicians organization dividing our country into various regions there were handbell performances all around. This article will attempt to cover the early history of our instrument in the US, and particularly in Missouri, Iowa, Illinois, Kansas, and Nebraska.

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