American Bell Association

About This Association

The American Bell Association International, Inc (ABA) got off to an informal start under the name The National Bell Collectors Club at Chautauqua Institution in southwestern New York State in 1940. Mary Alter Collins, who spent her summers at Chautauqua, won the 1940 annual poetry prize for a nature poem, “First Pastures.” The prize was a purse of money. Mary purchased a Sarna bell at the book store and said to the clerk, “I will be the first bell collector!” The clerk told her there were other women staying at Chautauqua who collected bells, and soon the five women got together and decided to start a society of bell lovers.

Publications

The Bell Tower

Conventions

Annual

Specialties:

1. Collectors

Information Summary