The search for the George Prince ferry bell, which spanned almost three years, is now over.
Filmmaker Royd Anderson, who began the search for the bell while writing and directing a documentary on the Luling/Destrehan Ferry Disaster, said that the bell was finally located at the Louisiana State Museum’s collection storage facility in New Orleans.
After an article appeared in the Herald-Guide last week, several residents called and said that they remembered seeing the bell five years ago at the Cabildo.
“After hearing the story from one resident, who read about the search for the bell in the paper, I called the Cabildo and spoke with the director of collections at the Louisiana State Museum,” Anderson said. “Years ago, he said that the bell was part of a rivers exhibit, which explains why folks saw the bell there.”
It turns out that not only did Anderson find the bell, but he and the director of collections, Greg Lambousy, knew each other in the late ‘90s.
“We played in a band together and he was the drummer and I was the bass player,” Anderson said. “It’s ironic how our paths crossed once again, especially for such an important project.
“I haven’t seen or spoken to him in over 10 years. Life is a circle.”
Anderson is going to see the bell today and the Destrehan/Luling Ferry Disaster Committee plans to use the bell as the centerpiece of a monument in the East Bank Bridge Park.
Be the first to comment