Becoming One for Whom the Bell Tolls

For his Spanish-style ranch house, Bud Breul of Thousand Oaks would like to find a 14-inch or 18-inch church or school bell , but has no idea where to look. Do any sources ring a bell with our readers, or will Breul not be buoyed until the next round?

Betty Ellyn of Los Angeles is looking for a litter container that fits over the center bump of a car and is weighted down by sandbags. Can you help get Ellyn over the hump, or will the solution to her problem literally never be in the bag?

Ed J. of Los Angeles is after an Eames--or similar - style--black leather footstool with aluminum-type or metal base , preferably with a pedestal base. He has the Eames chair to go with it. Can you help Ed become a gracious chair man again, or will he have that sinking feeling only after we put him on a pedestal?

For a college-bound student, Zafira Berke of Los Angeles needs fitted, solid-color sheets for bunk beds . Can you help before Berke goes bonkers, or will that student never be a sure bed to pull down straight A’s?

Reader-to-Reader Help Line: To add to a friend’s collection, Leslie at (714) 354-9801 (days) or (714) 780-2172 wants a Scotty dog figure that was a Home Interiors hostess gift about a dozen years ago; the figure, about 10 inches high and 12 inches long, is no longer available from Home Interiors. Since Leslie obviously has been barking up the wrong tree, please do something before her friend’s collection goes to the dogs. . . . Mary at (213) 378-5903 needs the beater for a discontinued Model K4B KitchenAid mixer ; please see to it that things don’t get beat up--or mixed up--any more in Mary’s kitchen. . . . It’s been a while since we had a request for a sweater stretcher , but Francine at (213) 602-1821 needs one quickly. Please make sure that she doesn’t get bent out of shape too much. . . . Mark at (714) 635-4133 needs to replace the hood ornament on his Volvo ; it was accidentally broken off recently and is no longer carried by dealers. Please be Swede about this and make sure that Mark isn’t tempted to do something drastic about this problem, such as using a re-Volvo.

Note: The Reader-to-Reader Help Line is only for one-time items or for products no longer available in stores. And you must give us written permission to publish your telephone number, so that others may contact you directly.

Mrs. Jerry Polzine of Anaheim informs us that Tapioca Pearl (Bille de Tapioca), which had been off the market and which some readers had asked for a while back, is now available again and can probably be purchased in many Oriental food markets.

It should soon be all downhill for Diana Christianson of Carlsbad, who wanted pine tar for wooden skis. Bill Getz of the Wm. Getz Corp. of Santa Ana, nationwide distributors of pine tar, says the store nearest to Carlsbad is Westwood Sports of Vista, (619) 487-2147. And Ruth Johnson of Downey suggests contacting the Cumberland General Store, Route 3, Box 81, Crossville, Tenn. 38555, telephone (800) 334-4640.

Vera Palmiero, who was looking for hosiery with a cotton foot, should soon be on softer footing. Florence Parks of Los Angeles says she gets such hosiery from James & Williams Shoes, 5763 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, Calif. 90036, telephone (213) 938-3505; she usually orders by mail and says the item comes in one color only: beige. Our other source is also a mail-order firm. Sarane Van Dyke of Los Angeles, Helen Tomsky of Sun Valley, Margaret Beyer of Santa Ana, Corrine Brawley of Anaheim and Lila of San Diego all report that such hosiery can be obtained from National Wholesale Co. Inc., Lexington, N.C. 27294, telephone (704) 249-0211.

We now have two mail-order sources for Mrs. Henry of Huntington Park, who wants covers for four-slice toasters. Amy M. Meedel of Eagle Rock says catalogues put out by Spencer Gifts, 500 Packets Court, Williamsburg, Va. 23189, and Ambassador Gifts, P.O. Box 52146, Phoenix, Ariz. 85072-9825, carry the covers. Meedel adds that some K mart stores also have them.