BY TERRY FLYNN
The Cincinnati Enquirer
NEWPORT - The world's largest free-swinging bell, all 12-by-12-feet of it, will ring in the millennium in this river city. But it may be standing all alone for a while.
The Millennium Monument, a huge tower that would dominate the Greater Cincinnati skyline from its planned location at Fifth and Monmouth streets here, may not be completed when the World Peace Bell is in place and ready to make its first sound.
Gov. Paul Patton announced Monday that he and a contingent of local, state and national figures will travel to Nantes, France, for the Dec. 11 casting of the 66,000-pound bronze bell.
Cynthia Goodman, creative director and producer for the Millennium Monument project and exhibits, said the casting of the bell and the involvement of the governor and other officials places the project in an entirely new light.
"Those of us internally in the monument project are aware that we are moving ahead every day," Ms. Goodman said. "But this announcement and the casting of the bell are visible signs that we are a significant millennium project."
"We've always thought of ourselves as an international icon for Northern Kentucky and Greater Cincinnati," she said. "We are sending a message to the entire world."
The location of the proposed Millennium Monument, cleared of almost all structures, has been an empty lot for over a year while officials of the Millennium Monument Co. seek the necessary financing to build the $100 million structure.
"The financing is not my area, but I think it is inevitable that, as we progress with the casting and delivery of the bell, we will receive the attention we need," Ms. Goodman said. "We hope in the new year (1999) to have announcements about financing and ground breaking for the monument."
Mr. Patton said Monday the delegation going to Nantes will include some 40 people from the state, the United Nations, and the White House.
He and his wife, Jodi, and state tourism officials will spend three days in Nantes and in Paris meeting with French officials to promote economic development and tourism for Kentucky.
Newport Mayor Tom Guidugli will also make the trip, along with representatives of the Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Foundation, which is promoting millennium events.
After the bell is cast, it will travel by ship from France to New Orleans, and then by boat up the Mississippi and Ohio rivers to Newport, with an estimated arrival date in the spring.
The bell will be housed in a structure built near the site of the Millennium Monument, along with a number of smaller bells in a special pavilion.
The casting of the World Freedom Bell at the Paccard Foundry in Nantes, in conjunction with the Verdin Co. of Cincinnati, coincides with the 50th anniversary celebration of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights signed in France in 1948.
