LINN — The ringing of bells marked the 239th anniversary of the signing of the United States Constitution as members of the Jane Randolph Jefferson Chapter of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution gathered with community members at the Osage County Library Wednesday, Sept. 16.

Constitution Week Chair Ellen Sandhaus led the ceremony, which included the Pledge of Allegiance, a one-minute bell ringing, recitation and discussion of the Preamble, local proclamations recognizing Constitution Week, and a look at the history behind both the observance and the use of bells to commemorate the signing of the Constitution.

Sandhaus was joined by fellow Jane Randolph Jefferson Chapter members Mary Backes, Rhonda Bish, and Rose Hilkemeyer.

Before participants rang bells for one minute, Sandhaus discussed the importance bells once held in American communities.

“Bells have played an important part in the history of our country,” Sandhaus said. “They were used to call the people together for town meetings, for church services, to sound the alarm in times of danger, to announce important events, and to celebrate victories.”

She said bells were rung following the signing of the Declaration of Independence and again after the Constitution was signed Sept. 17, 1787.

The Constitution was created during the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, where delegates had gathered to address problems with the Articles of Confederation, the governing document then in use. The convention ultimately produced an entirely new framework for the federal government.

Thirty-nine delegates signed the completed Constitution Sept. 17, 1787. The document then went to the states for ratification.

The local ceremony was part of the DAR’s annual Constitution Week observance. Sandhaus explained that the organization began working in the 1950s to establish a national week recognizing the Constitution.

According to information presented during the program, DAR members petitioned Congress in 1955 to designate Sept. 17-23 each year as Constitution Week. The resolution was adopted by Congress and signed into law by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1956.

The DAR’s observance is intended to encourage study of the Constitution, emphasize citizens’ responsibilities for protecting the rights it provides, and recognize the document’s significance in American government.

During Wednesday’s ceremony, participants recited the Preamble:

“We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”

Sandhaus then went through the Preamble again using an explanatory version provided with the program, breaking its language into more familiar terms for the children and adults attending.

Osage County Sheriff Michael C. “Mike” Bonham and Presiding Commissioner Darryl Griffin also participated in the ceremony, each reading a proclamation recognizing Sept. 17-23 as Constitution Week.

Bonham’s proclamation noted that Sept. 17, 2026, marked the 239th anniversary of the drafting of the Constitution by the Constitutional Convention and encouraged residents to study the document and reflect on the privileges and responsibilities of citizenship.

Griffin read the county’s proclamation, which similarly recognized the anniversary and the annual observance.

Both proclamations called upon residents to “reaffirm the ideals the Framers of the Constitution had in 1787 by vigilantly protecting the freedoms guaranteed to us through this guardian of our liberties.”

The county proclamation also recognized the DAR for its work promoting Constitution Week and encouraging Americans to study the Constitution.

The program concluded with Sandhaus reading a portion of a prayer attributed in the program to George Washington.

“Almighty God, we make our earnest prayer that Thou wilt keep the United States in Thy holy protection,” the passage began.

Sandhaus thanked Bonham, Griffin, DAR members, and those who attended the ceremony for helping commemorate the anniversary.

The annual observance places particular emphasis on education. Materials distributed at the Linn program included information about the Constitution, an explanation of the Preamble, the history of Constitution Week, and information about the DAR’s Bells Across America observance.

Constitution Week runs annually from Sept. 17, the anniversary of the Constitution’s signing, through Sept. 23.