Petaluma marking Independence Day with bell ringing ceremony

The Fourth of July is a holiday laden with tradition -- fireworks, parades, picnics, speeches and more. Among the most historic traditions is the bell ringing ceremony.

The Petaluma Museum Association will celebrate July 4 with its annual bell ringing ceremony on the front steps of the Petaluma Historical Library and Museum, 20 Fourth St., at 10:30 a.m. Saturday.

Boy Scout Troop 9 will start the event with the color guard flag ceremony, Petaluma Mayor David Glass will speak and the Deardorff Sisters will sing. At 11 a.m., visitors can line up to take turns ringing the bell. After the ceremony, cookies and lemonade will be served in the museum’s Garden Court.

Petaluma’s verson of the bell ringing ceremony dates back to 1962, when the late Helen Putnam, teacher, principal, longtime Petaluma mayor and Sonoma County supevisor, invited neighbors to ring the bell at her house at the corner of B and Fair Streets.

Before she owned it, the bell -- dubbed the “Liberty Bell” -- was used to alert workers to fire, accidents and other emergencies at the Korbel Lumber Company in Korbel. After her death at age 82 in 2014, her son donated the bell to the Petaluma Museum.

Information: 778-4398.

You can reach staff writer Dan Taylor at 521-5243 or dan.taylor@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @danarts.