Monroe County has the distinct honor of having two bells for America250PA’s Bells Across America — one from among the 67 representing the counties and one sponsored by a business to celebrate our country’s semiquincentennial.

Both are extraordinarily beautiful and should make the county’s residents proud of the artistry of its people.

The first bell, affectionately named Etna, was created by Linda Stockman-Connors, and is named in remembrance of Etna Bittenbender. The girl was murdered on Oct. 31, 1880, near Sciota, and her death went unsolved for over 140 years until Monroe County District Attorney Michael Mancuso and now retired Chief County Detective Eric Kerchner figured out who did it. Their book in 2021, “Etna: A Murder Out of Time,” is one of Stockman-Connors’ favorite books.

She said earlier this spring, “I thought her name was appropriate for the bell,” because she wanted to memorialize the girl who died so young.

Stockman-Connors’ bell sits in the Monroe County Historical Society in Stroudsburg for people to come visit. She capped the bell in the blue of our flag with its large, white stars. Almost as if the flag was draped over the bell, the red and white stripes swirl around the sound bow, and a belt depicting eight historic sites in vibrant greens and sky blues cinch around its waist.

A portrait of U.S. President James Monroe, framed in gold, almost hangs like a pendant from the trim of red, white and blue beads that surround the belt separating the scenes from the flag. Monroe was the fifth president and served from 1817 to 1825. The county is named after him, although he never lived in this area.

“I used seed beads to represent the Lenape people,” Stockman-Connors said. The Lenape people were one of the Native American tribes that lived in the area at the time and used seed beads for jewelry.

The eight historic sites are East Stroudsburg University, East Stroudsburg Train Station, Mount Eaton Church in Saylorsburg, Quiet Valley Historic Living Farm in Hamilton Township, the Monroe County Courthouse in Stroudsburg, the Mader #2 covered bridge in the Nettle Creek Wildlife Sanctuary in Hamilton Township, Ice House #1 in Tobyhanna and Kittatinny Hotel in Delaware Water Gap. Most of the places are still here, but a couple are gone.

The other bell was recently unveiled at Kinsley’s ShopRite in Brodheadsville. Lauren McMann, the special events coordinator for Kinsley’s ShopRite, said the store was contacted this spring by the Bells Across PA committee and asked if it would like to sponsor a bell. McMann said she was thrilled to be asked, and happy when Kinsley’s also embraced the idea.

An employee of ShopRite recommend Brenda Mackey, who is an art teacher at Pleasant Valley Intermediate School, to McMann to be the artist for the bell.

“She’s exactly what I wanted for this project. She really brings the heart of the community full circle,” McMann said at the bell’s unveiling.

Mackey grew up in the Poconos, left to go to college, but returned to find — what she called — “her dream job” teaching right here at PVIS.

It was her fondness for this area that she tapped into when creating her design for the bell. Mackey said she remembers going to the original ShopRite as a child, and she and her brother would get samples of cheese at the deli and a cookie at the bakery.

“It was such a core childhood memory,” she said. That’s why when she was asked if she would paint the bell for ShopRite, she was honored to be a part of the project.

Painted with acrylics, the bell incorporates scenes from throughout the Poconos including the Sherman Theater, the West End Fair with a first place Blue Ribbon, the Tannersville Learning Center, Delaware Water Gap, the state flower mountain laurel, Kinsley’s new ShopRite and, of course, its antique car.

The bell is on display at Kinsley’s ShopRite for the whole community to enjoy.

Both bells have similar elements, the American Flag, the beautiful rural nature of the area and reflections of its people. We are truly blessed to have both bells, and I encourage you to visit them, to take more than just a moment to study the details in them, and maybe say a prayer of thankfulness for these artists, their talents, our county and our country.