This city never ceases to amaze, and to entertain, and to inspire.

Every New Year’s Eve day at noon, community members surround City Hall to sing “Auld Lang Syne of Bath” and ring its historic Paul Revere Bell — one of only four in Maine believed to have been cast personally by Paul Revere prior to his death in 1818.

The New Year’s Eve day celebration began in 2003, the 200th anniversary of the hanging of the bell in the North Church. The Paul Revere Bell now hangs in the City Hall belfry.

The occasion in 2003 inspired Martha Mayo enough to compose “Auld Lang Syne of Bath.”

Mayo’s daughter, City Councilor Mari Eosco, was Main Street Bath coordinator at the time.

“I wrote it to commemorate the arrival of the Paul Revere Bell in Bath,” said Mayo, a longtime member of Main Street Bath, which sponsors the bellringing.

“I dabble in lyrics. I’ve written a song about Bath, called ‘City of Ships.’”

It didn’t take Mayo long, she said, to compose “Auld Lang Syne of Bath.” It was just another one of her ways to bring people together.

“I consider myself a catalyst,” Mayo said. “I’m a recruiter, but I don’t necessarily take the lead on things.”

Mayo, a self-described “folkie,” has been known to play guitar during the bell-ringing.

Jen Geiger, director of Main Street Bath, appreciates Mayo’s contributions to the community.

“Martha’s like the music maven of Bath,” Geiger said. “She gets all the carolers together for Christmas. She’s very tapped into the community.”

People will begin to gather under Hallet’s Clock across from City Hall at 11:45 a.m. After the revelry, everyone will gather in the City Hall auditorium for snacks.

Jane Morse, another longtime Main Street Bath member, wrote a history of the Paul Revere Bell in Bath:

“The bell was cast by Paul Revere & Son in Boston in 1802. A subscription was taken up in May 1803 ‘for the purpose of purchasing a bell for the new meeting-house in the town of Bath.’

“The new meeting house subsequently known as the North Church, was built in 1802 at the northeast corner of High and Centre streets, and replaced the original meetinghouse on Witch Spring Hill. The bell was brought to Bath and was hung in the spire of North Church in 1803, and for many years was rung as the Town Bell.

“After the congregation of Old North built the Winter Street Church on Washington Street in 1843 and moved there, the bell was sold to the Universalist Church and hung in the steeple of its church on Front Street. In 1860, the Universalists moved to a building on Washington Street at the head of Linden Street. The church on Front Street was torn down and replaced by the Church Block, which still stands with Mason Street Mercantile and Bath Printing Company occupying its ground floor.

“The City purchased the bell and moved it to the old Town Hall which was located on the northeast corner of Centre and Water streets. (The former W.T. Grant store is located on the site, and is now occupied by Tate’s.) The Town Hall was built in 1837-38, was remodeled around the time that Bath was chartered as a city in 1847 and was renamed City Hall, and the belfry was added in 1861 to accommodate the Revere bell.

“When the Davenport Memorial City Hall was built in 1929, the bell was moved to its belfry. Also moved to the new City Hall was a tablet commemorating the bell, which had been placed in the old City Hall in 1915 by the local chapter of the Daughter’s of the American Revolution. Unfortunately, as the Bath Daily Times of May 29, 1929, reported, ‘Although the tablet says the bell was cast in 1805, those who have examined it say that the imprint on the bell shows it was cast in 1802.’

“Perleston L. (“Bub”) Pert, formerly of Bath, has researched the Revere bells in Maine, and in 1971 was able to identify 23 still remaining in the state.

“Of these, only four could have been cast personally by Paul Revere before his death in 1818: the bells at Bath City Hall, Christ Church at Gardiner, First Parish Unitarian Church at Kennebunk, and St. Patrick’s Roman Catholic Church at Damariscotta Mills.”

“Auld Lang Syne of Bath”
Written by Martha Mayo

“Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And days of auld lang syne? And days
of auld lang syne, my dear,
And days of auld lang syne.
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And days of auld lang syne?
Old Paul Revere he made a bell
And it to Bath did come.
From Meeting House to City Hall
Since 1803 has hung.
1803 they hung the bell
In 1803 (18 0-0-3)
From Meeting House to City Hall
Since 1803 has hung.
Join Main Street Bath and sing a song
This day to celebrate.
It’s 12 o’clock — 12 hours too soon
We did not want to wait.
From 1803 has hung the bell
Since 1803
From Meeting House to City Hall
Since 1803 has hung.
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And days of auld lang syne? And days
of auld lang syne, my dear,
And days of auld lang syne.
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And days of auld lang syne?”

lgrard@timesrecord.com