1987-09-18

              Friday/September 18, 1987

lasses

Bells dedicated, installed in library

Special Article

By Gayla Lindt, assistant director of CSB Public Information

Ecumenical spirit rings true for couple donating bells to campus

Since last Friday, the College of Saint Benedict campus will never sound the same.

Gladys (Antony) and Clifford Wold of Fargo, N.D., donated four bells in memory of their parents to ring from the bell tower of the Clemens Library. Lectio, Meditatio, Oratio and Contemplatio, as the bells were named, were blessed and rung for the first time during a dedication ceremony on September 11. The 3,800 pounds of bronze cast in Holland will chime the quarter-hour and peal for special events on the Saint Ben's campus.

Gladys attended CSB for one year (1928-29) before her mother became ill and passed away. She never returned, but her four younger sisters, Dolores (Toni), Eileen, Mary Eulaliah and Betty Grace, all later attended Saint Ben's. Says Gladys about her one year at CSB: "You had so much fun over nothing!"

Bells ring out Benedictine heritage, ecumenical spirit

In Latin, Lectio, Meditatio, Oratio and Contemplatio, mean reading, thinking, praying and contemplating, which are the traditional stages in the cycle of Monastic learning.

But — given the lives, ideas and ideals of the Wolds — the pealing of the Clemens Library bells will not only sound these qualities, but will signal as well the welcoming and acceptance of other faiths at this predominantly Catholic institution.

Much of the Wolds' ecumenical spirit has evolved from their 54 years of marriage — Gladys is Catholic, Cliff is Lutheran.

But their philanthropic efforts have been nothing less than ecumenical. The couple supports six churches, writing out two checks for equal amounts each Sunday, f
This is the fourth gift of bells by the Wolds. Their first donations were to the Olivet Lutheran and Nativity Catholic churches in Fargo, where they own the city's Holiday Inn. Gladys remarks that Cliff is going to soon be known as the bellman, and quickly laughs at her own pun, assuring that she does not mean a "bellman" for hotels. "He's not going to be hauling bags!" she says.

Their third bell donation is a gift that truly symbolizes the Wolds' ecumenical spirit. In West Fargo there are two churches, Holy Cross Catholic Church and Lutheran Church of the Cross, built on the same plot oi land. An enclosed corridor, with a bell tower in its center, joins the two buildings. Here, families of mingling faiths are able to approach their churches together, partake in their own celebration and then assemble socially in the courtyard between the two buildings.

A symbol of that union between these faiths is the bell that Clifford and Gladys donated for the central tower. An inscription on the bell, which Cliff wrote, tells of this ecumenical spirit:

Let the bell ring out calling all Christians to God's temple. For we are all God's children united in His service. Many interests, complementing personalities keep this couple thriving The Wolds' interests are as diverse as the couple itself.

The two have owned several hotels in the Fargo-Moorhead area and once owned an apartment complex in Minneapolis. Cliff is chairman of his own family operation, Wold Properties.

Cliff, once a school superintendent and principal in North Dakota, continued his education to become, like his father and uncles, an optometrist. He has worked extensively for both churches, including at one time coaching his children's athletic teams at their Catholic schools.

Photo by Bernie Chow

Margrette Nemanich, president of SAB, gives Lectio a hearty ring-

Gladys sews and paints in her spare time. Their seventh-floor Holiday Inn penthouse is fullof strong yellows and greens. Gladys' artwork and the many recognition awards the couple has received are displayed on the walls, reflecting the couple's own hard work and their hard work for others.

The successful couple shares an intimate sense of humor that has grown richer with each of their 59 years together (Cliff courted Gladys for five years). When. Cliff tells about how the couple first met, for example, Gladys chides him: "You've told this so many times you almost believe it yourself!"

Gladys admits that she "always puts her two cents' worth in — (Cliff) is more silent... I like to keep the ball rolling; I'm not as serious."

Both occasionally attend services in each others' congregations. Cliff sometimes attends two services on a Sunday. Regardless, church-going is not something the Wolds fight about. "I don't mind going to church alone — I've been doing it for years," says Gladys "... if he wants to go with me, I'm very happy to have him come, and I appreciate the fact that he's doing this, that he's coming with me."

Gladys notes that she has taken some teasing at the many Lutheran functions she attends. Once someone told her: "I see you at so many Lutheran functions, you're gonna be one of us yet!" Says Gladys, "I dont pay any attention .. ."

But even the Wolds' celebrations of their marriage have grown more ecumenical. The two were married in a priest's house in North Dakota more than a half-century ago. In contrast, they celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in Olivet Lutheran Church, with his pastor, her priest and bishops from both congregations in attendance.

Photo by Bernie Chow

A worker installs one of the bells.