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Allen County Edition Ed E Reaching Fort Wayne And Surrounding Counties
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Vol. 36, No. 3
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th i cases, which hi h I take with me wherh their ever I go,” Snow said. Snow got started bell ringing in 1976 between the birth of her daughter, Shannon, and son, Barton Hicks. “I told our church organist and bell choir director if she ever needed a substitute that I was available. I had never touched a bell, but as a member of the church choir could read music. When a ringer had to drop out, she contacted me and said to come in and she would teach me. I was apparently a good student because she said I took to it like a duck to water. It literally changed my life,” she said. A year later, she was asked to direct the junior high bell choir. “I didn’t know the first thing about teaching kids to play bells. The church sent me to IU Bloomington for a week-long workshop conducted by well-known bell instructor, Don Allured. It was a life-changing experience,” Snow said. Allured also helped her organize a handbell festival in Fort Wayne, which attracted 13 choirs from Continued on page 3
Music has been a big part of Jane Snow’s life since she was a child. Both of her parents played piano, and she and two older brothers would sing hymns. Now that she’s become an accomplished handbell ringer and instructor, it’s become even more important. Her skill has elevated her to the top echelons among handbell ringers in the nation. She was Indiana chairperson and secretary treasurer of Area 5 Handbell Musicians of America and served as clinician for the national organization over eight years. She’s looking forward to serving as secretary for Area 5 for another two years. “My proudest accomplishment as a handbell ringer is my daughter, Shannon Hicks Hardiek, who followed in my footsteps. She’s presently Area 5 chair-elect and in two years will be heading the organization. A financial planner and investment manager by trade,” said Snow, “she’s an extremely accomplished ringer, and I’m very proud of her. She directs the Trinity Lutheran Church bell choir of which I’m happy to be a member.” Most ringers don’t own their own bells, but Snow has 41 bells and 40 chimes, while her daughter has 61 bells and 37 chimes. “I don’t have room in my home for a 36-foot long table of bells. I keep them in
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