Music, Songs, and Poems Celebrate the Justice Bell: 1915 and Today

As suffragists worked to convince the men of Pennsylvania to grant them the vote, one of the attention-getting methods they employed during the 1915 campaign was the inclusion of music, songs, and poetry at their events. With plenty of advance notice of the bell's arrival, residents were ready with their musical instruments, marching bands participated in parades, children sang songs, and people recited poems. 

In Fairfield, journalist Rose Weston wrote in the Adams County Independent on October 8, 1915, “Through a chilling rain the campaigners traveled until they came to their noonday stop at Fairfield. The school children stood in an awed little procession in front of the bell and sang ‘America,’ ‘Our Father’s God, to Thee, Author of Liberty,’ they sang, and as their voices rose clear and sweet the sun broke through the clouds and the shadows of dancing leaves wavered across the bell.”

The York Dispatch reported on October 9, 1915: “That the bell party at this borough was being anxiously awaited by at least one sympathizer was shown in a suffrage poem especially written and dedicated to the franchise liberty bell by Mrs. Mary H. Eberhart, who is more than 80 years old. Mrs. Eberhart was compelled by sickness to take her bed, and as she was unable to attend the mass meeting, made the plea that the bell be moved to a position in front of her home so that she might see it. At the close of the meeting, the bell was taken to the Eberhart residence where it was viewed by the aged suffragist from her bedroom window. The title of Mrs. Eberhart’s testimonial to the bell party is ‘Columbia’s Daughters.’”

Suffragist Spotlight
Mary Stewart

Mary Stewart moved to Missoula, Montana, in 1907 to become the dean of women at the University of Montana, where she taught languages. While there, she became active in the state’s women’s suffrage movement, which secured the vote for women in Montana in 1914. In 1915, Stewart wrote to the Pennsylvania Woman Suffrage Association to offer her help. “I feel that the women of Montana owe something to the women of the east,” she wrote, “because without their help, we could scarcely have won our campaign last fall. It is in the spirit of gratitude, as well as devotion, that I am willing to give my services . . . for such a brief vacation as I have.” She joined the bell party as a speaker on June 30 in Crawford County and remained with the tour until August 7 in Centre County.

In addition to her suffrage work and other activities, Stewart was widely known for her poem and prayer “The Collect,” written in 1904 while she was a member of the General Federation of Women’s Clubs (GFWC), which became the first national organization to adopt “The Collect” as a poem and prayer to be recited at official gatherings. The Federation of Business and Professional Women’s Clubs later adopted it, and it has since been widely used by other organizations in the United States and other countries.

2026 Montgomery County Community College Justice Bell Song Contest

On April 21, more than a century after the Justice Bell traveled across Pennsylvania, I attended the Montgomery County Community College (MCCC) Justice Bell Song Awards ceremony to honor six winners for their songs about the Justice Bell. I was accompanied by two Montgomery County Community College judges, Dr. Chae Sweet, Vice President of Academic Affairs and Provost, and Lawrence Green, MCCC archivist. Nicole Maugle, Director of Libraries, emceed the ceremony.

After reading from the Preface of my book, The Justice Bell: Tracing the Journey of a Forgotten Symbol, we listened to the songs. They were beautiful and moving. Two songs were accompanied by music, one was instrumental, and three were recited without music. Each winner received a certificate, a copy of The Justice Bell: Tracing the Journey of a Forgotten Symbol, and a $500 award.

The songs and their writers are:

“The Justice Bell” by Brian Hopely
“Justice Bell” by Jen Gordon
“The Path to Justice” by Dana Miller
“Ring in the Silence” by Ashlee McEntyre
“Justice" by Ajari Benn
“Justice Bell” by Juno Walter

We are making arrangements to share the recordings and texts of these works.

The Justice Bell Song contest was funded by The Jonas C., Marian D., and Robert H. Erb Charitable Fund, and presented by the Justice Bell Foundation and Montco Libraries Partnership.

Continue the Journey

Our next stops are in June with presentations in Schuylkill, Wayne, and Lackawanna Counties.

Follow our 2026 Tour
Learn more about the tour on our website.

• View the Justice Bell Foundation tour page
• See the full schedule of events
• Learn more about the documentary Finding Justice: The Untold Story of Women’s Fight for the Vote
• Read the book The Justice Bell: Tracing the Journey of a Forgotten Symbol

Join us as we follow the path of the Justice Bell and explore the remarkable history it represents in Pennsylvania’s fight for women’s suffrage.

Sign up to follow our blog here, and we'll notify you when a new post is published.

(Ignore the below "Subscribe to: Comment atom." That link does not work.)