On July 4, 1976, Michael Garvey, then 8 years old, attended the dedication ceremony for a replica of the Liberty Bell in Kiwanis Park east of the village hall.
It was part of the nation’s bicentennial celebration. Brookfield received one of 100 replicas made by the foundry that produced the original bell.
Fifty years later, Garvey, now 58 and Brookfield’s village president, led a rededication ceremony on the 50th anniversary and the nation’s 250th birthday.
“Let freedom ring for all to hear,” Garvey said as a recorded bell ringing 13 times—once for each colony—played.
A couple hundred people attended.
State Rep. Lisa Hernandez (2nd District) called it “a very special occasion.”
“It’s an honor to join the village and to rededicate one of only 100 bells modeled after the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia,” she said.
The bell, she said, serves as a reminder that “our freedoms are fought for in a multitude of ways.”
That includes “serving in the armed forces, gathering petitions, reporting on injustice, running for office, contacting your elected officials and organizing your community on shared values and issues.”
“Today,” Hernandez said, “we dedicate ourselves to creating a more perfect union for the next 250 years.”
State Sen. Javier Loera Cervantes (1st District) said the Liberty Bell has long stood as a symbol of “freedom, democracy, justice and enduring promises.”
“For the past five decades, this replica has served as a reminder of those ideals for everyone who has visited this site. As we rededicate this bell, we not only value its history but commit ourselves to the values it represents,” Cervantes said.
Trustee Kit Ketchmark, who heads the Brookfield History Society, said local residents raised nearly $30,000 for the replica in 1976.
The replica was cast by the White Chapel Bell Foundry in London, which cast the original in 1752.
Brookfield has one of three replicas in Illinois.
The original bell had a hairline crack but still rang loudly to mark the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the deaths of George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and Alexander Hamilton, Ketchmark said.
A more substantial crack developed in the 1840s, silencing the bell. It remains on display at Independence Hall in Philadelphia.
“Whether the Liberty Bell rang or not, it has served as a patriotic symbol of Americans’ independence, freedom and collective destiny for more than 250 years, and continues to do so,” Ketchmark said.
John Dumas, dressed in period clothing from 1776 Philadelphia, read a poem about the Liberty Bell written in 1839.
After the recorded bell ringing, many residents posed for photos in front of the replica as “The Liberty Bell March,” written by John Philip Sousa in 1893, played.
The song brought smiles to some faces. One man noted that anyone familiar with “Monty Python’s Flying Circus” knows it was the theme song for the BBC comedy series broadcast from 1969 to 1974.
Afterward, many residents attended the village’s annual Party in the Park, held after the Fourth of July parade.
Hernandez and Cervantes each received a small replica of the bell from Garvey.