Doug Poll may soon have his bell back.
The antique bell – which had been in his family for more than 100 years and was used to call Poll to dinner in his youth – was stolen from his Kitchener yard sometime Monday night or Tuesday morning.
CTV News featured Poll’s story on Wednesday.
Among those watching was Ray Mitchell, owner of Dis-A-Ray Antiques in Guelph.
Mitchell immediately noticed that the cast-iron bell seemed similar to one that had been brought into his store the previous day.
“It looks very similar to the one that was (stolen), and the fact that mine came out of Kitchener one day after one got stolen in Kitchener – it makes me think it’s got to be the same bell,” he said.
Poll, 84, hasn’t seen the bell in person yet – but after being shown a video of it, said he believed it was his.
“It made me feel happy to know the bell is out there,” he said.
“It makes me feel like there are still people around who care.”
Like Poll’s bell, the one brought to Dis-A-Ray weighs about 150 pounds and has a distinct sound.
Mitchell said he paid an antique dealer $300 for the bell, and had marked it for sale at $395 – but would happily give it to Poll for free.
“If it was (worth) $3,000, it wouldn’t matter,” he said.
“You have to give items back to where they came from.”
If the bell is found to be Poll’s, he plans to keep displaying it in his yard – although from now on, it’ll be securely fastened.
