Kilgo Clapper

Kilgo Clapper

“Charley,” the bell that now hangs in the Kilgo belfry, was brought to Duke by the Red Friars, Duke’s first and best-known “secret society.” The Red Friars were founded in 1913 for the purpose of producing “better feeling between the different collegiate societies,” according to The Chronicle. Usually composed of leaders of fraternities and student organizations, they engaged in a number of campus improvement projects, including an attempt to reform residential life. The bell was hoisted into the Kilgo belfry in 1951, where the Friars would ring it for ceremonies. The Red Friars chose to disband in 1971.

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Kilgo Clapper, Artifact and Relics Collection, Box 27, Duke University Archives, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University.

Metal clapper from inside a bell.

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