The impressive, 55-foot, stone tower has a commanding presence atop a knoll at the Cathedral's entrance. The stones in the tower's four massive pillars came from the fields surrounding the site. Early settlers, going back to 1760, cleared these stones in order to plant their crops. Little did these pioneers know that the rocks they dug from the ground and considered obstacles to their survival would one day rise as a shrine to patriotic womanhood, and serve as a reminder of their own fortitude.
The bells within the tower include English and Flemish carillons. There are also two Sheffield steel bells; one is an "Angelus," and the other is a larger, 1800 pound bell cast by the Naylor Vickers Company of Sheffield in 1866.
Large bronze plaques rest atop each of the tower's four archways. Bas relief sculptures of women grace the tablets depicting those who served not only in uniform, but in other roles as well. Artist Norman Rockwell created the design, and his son, Peter, sculpted the figures.
One plaque portrays an early pioneer woman, child at her side and rifle at the ready, in remembrance of those who defended the home front while their men were away. Another plaque represents the women of the armed forces--the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and the Coast Guard. Still another plaque shows American Red Cross founder Clara Barton assisting a wounded soldier in tribute to all nurses who served our combat forces. The remaining plaque honors the Sisters of Charity, who tended wounded and dying soldiers, and women who served in the Salvation Army or YWCA, or who performed as USO entertainers during war time, or who were war correspondents, and those who worked the farms, shops, and wartime factories who universally became known as "Rosie the Riveter." While not serving in actual combat, many of these women risked their lives--and many lost their lives-in answering our country's call.
At the center of the tower, commemorating the lives of American nurses lost in wars, stands a granite fountain flowing with the "Waters of Life." The waters rise up the trunk and cascade over the limbs of a beautifully sculpted bronze "Tree of Life" that emerges from the fountain. The trunk of the "Tree of Life" signifies the strength of character, stamina, determination, and courage of womanhood as the "Mother of Men." Sprouting from the limbs of the tree are twelve fruits with leaves specific to the type of fruit. The twelve fruits include: breadfruit, pear, fig, peach, olive, orange, avocado, apple, lemon, cherry, pomegranate, and plum.
The fountain, with its "Waters of Life," and the "Tree of Life," with its fruit and their leaves, are references to passages in the Book of Revelations [22:1-2] "... the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations."
Ground was broken for the Women's Memorial Bell Tower in 1963, and its official dedication was in 1967. At the time, the governor of every state and territory of the United States contributed to the building fund.
With the building of the Women's Memorial Bell Tower at Cathedral of the Pines, a grateful nation at long last paid fitting tribute to the self-sacrificing contributions of all patriotic American women who deserve our honor and admiration.