A bit of history and some “did you know?” type information for this Friday before the Memorial Day weekend.

Entrance to the Roanoke City Public Library

Downtown, near the entrance to the Roanoke City Public Library, is a bell.

Or, the monument of a bell.

Bell near Roanoke City Public Library

Even if you ride past in a car along Jefferson Street and look over (just across the street from the Patrick Henry Hotel) you can’t miss it.

According to the inscription on a plaque in front, the entire monument was built to acknowledge a ship that was named for the City of Roanoke. A ship called the USS Roanoke.

I conducted a Google search for more information about the USS Roanoke and yielded this article from Wikipedia.

I don’t know about you but I never knew this, and now we both do.

Have a great holiday weekend!