Solemn Observances In Battle Creek This Week
Battle Creek area residents may be hearing church bells - a lot of them, later tonight and again on Saturday evening. Mayor Mark Behnke is inviting all places of worship to join in two bell-ringing events. They’ll commemorate the 75 anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki Japan during the 2nd World War. Sister Cities International is organizing the events, working to promote peace. Bell ringing tonight begins at 7:15 pm. That’s the time the first A-bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. The second event will be at 10:02 pm this coming Saturday, the 8th, commemorating the bombing attack on Nagasaki. Battle Creek began developing a stronger business relationship with Japan in the ’70s as a local delegation traveled there in the mid-’70s to meet executives of companies interested in establishing operations in the city.