In 2012, the Pinole Historical Society began working with the school district to restore the bell that rang students to class at Pinole-Hercules School #1, the Old School, every day from 1906 to 1966.

After the school was torn down in 1968, the bell was moved to Pinole Middle School, where it sat outside, battered by the elements, for 40 years. When the middle school was remodeled, the bell was moved to various locations, including a storage closet at another elementary school and, finally, to a contractor’s outdoor storage yard, where the society found it in 2012, being guarded by a large dog.

The society impressed the school district of the bell’s historical significance to generations of Pinoleans who attended the school, and the district agreed to repair the pockmarked and rusted bell and install it at Collins Elementary School. On January 25, 2014, Old School alums and school district officials gathered for the dedication of the bell. Pinole Historical Society co-founder George Vincent spoke about the history of the school and the importance of the bell.