Date: Fri 02-Apr-1999

Publication: Bee

Author: JAN

Quick Words:

Edmond-town-hall-clock-repair

Full Text:

Experts Reach Back In Time To Restore Town Hall Clock System

(with photos)

BY JAN HOWARD

On July 4 at noon, the clock in the tower of Edmond Town Hall will strike 12

for the first time in about a decade.

The clock tower is part of a restoration program of the Edmond Town Hall's

clock system undertaken by members of the Connecticut Chapter 148 of the

National Watch and Clock Collectors Association, which meets every other month

in the town hall gymnasium.

The striking of the clock in a July 4 celebration will be a dream fulfilled

for the eight members of a committee formed by the group, who guarantee the

clock will be ready by that date or even sooner. They have been working on the

restoration evenings and weekends since mid-February.

The committee includes association members Dana Blackwell, Jim Gardner, Jim

Katzin, Jim Storrow, Jerry Valenta and Pete Zasada, and Clark Kathan, the

maintenance supervisor for the town hall, and Chris Locke, a power maintenance

engineer with SNET, who is the committee's expert on batteries.

"I absolutely can't wait for the day the clock strikes for the first time," Mr

Valenta said recently. "That will just knock everyone's socks off."

The clock system restoration project was inspired by Mr Katzin, who is

president of the local chapter of the Clock Collectors Association.

"For some time I felt there was something wrong with coming to a chapter

meeting in a building where the clock on the roof isn't working," Mr Katzin

said.

"Jim's had the idea all along. When he became president, he asked for

volunteers to help," Mr Valenta said.

The men conducted their first meeting as a group in January, and held

preliminary meetings with the Edmond Town Hall Board of Managers and Tom

Mahoney, the building manager.

Earlier this month, the Board of Managers gave its approval for the volunteers

to begin restoring the original clock system, which currently does not

function. The board also approved $1,000 to purchase new wet cell batteries

from Exide, at a cost of $800, and for other out-of-pocket expenses. The

batteries are similar to the ones previously used in the system, but are much

less expensive. The original batteries would have cost over $500 each, and

there were 12 of them powering the system.

The committee members say the $1,000 probably won't cover all the costs of the

restoration project, such as expenses committee members might encounter for

purchase of parts for the clocks that are now only available through

collectors and replacement of one of the dials in the tower clock.

The committee members think the emergency siren located in the tower caused

the clock dials, which are glass, to break. They recommended to the Board of

Managers that the siren be removed from the tower and reinstalled elsewhere.

"We think it broke the glass because it's focused right toward the dial," Mr

Valenta said. "For the long-term preservation of the clock and dials, they

should remove the siren."

Edgar Beers, chairman of the Board of Managers, said he was unsure if his

board will discuss the siren issue at its April 13 meeting. The vibration from

the siren is directed toward the clock, he said.

"We are going to see if it can be turned 45 degrees so it doesn't go directly

at the clock," he said. He said, while there is no proof the siren caused the

glass to break, "we would like to take the precaution" in case it did.

He said his board has not discussed removal of the siren from the clock tower.

Mr Beers, a fireman, said that according to the National Fire Protection

Association, two means of notifying firemen are required. "The siren is one of

them," he noted.

William Honan, a member of the Edmond Town Hall Board of Managers, said,

"We're very appreciative of what this group is doing. They've been very

helpful."

Mr Honan said he would like to see the siren removed from the clock tower,

explaining that the town of Bethel did away with its siren and only uses it to

inform school children there is no school.

"We ought to take some action," Mr Honan said. "It may be referred to the fire

commission."

An Unusual System

The clock system, manufactured by the Standard Electric Time Company of

Springfield, Mass., was installed in Edmond Town Hall about 1930.

"It hasn't worked in at least 13 years," Mr Valenta said.

Mr Valenta said the town hall clock system is very unusual.

The self-winding master clock, the heart of the clock system, is located in

the town clerk's office. This master clock, when running, operates seven

secondary, or slave, clocks in the town clerk's outer office, gym, boiler

room, probate office, lower meeting room, two in the selectman's office, and

three tower clocks.

According to Mr Locke, once every minute, the master clock sends an electrical

impulse to the secondary clocks, advancing all of them at the same time. This

eliminates the individual winding and setting of the clocks. The clock system

runs off AC power through the batteries with the storage batteries providing

DC and backup power if the AC power is interrupted.

Restoration

Committee members say the master clock needs, at a minimum, a cleaning and

oiling. Maintenance on it was last done in 1986, when it was cleaned and oiled

and the bell adjusted. Maintenance in prior years mainly consisted of cleaning

and oiling of the master clock because the secondary movements needed little

if any maintenance.

A battery pack downstairs in the town hall was the main source of power for

the clock. The storage batteries have completely failed. Since the cost to

refurbish those batteries would have been prohibitive, the committee

recommended to the Board of Managers that the Exide batteries be purchased.

These batteries, which weigh 40 pounds each, have a 20- to 25-year life

expectancy. They can run for a month if the AC power is disrupted.

"As long as the batteries are annually maintained, the system will continue to

work, once it is renovated," Mr Valenta said.

Mr Locke inspected the old system and made the recommendation for the

batteries, which have been ordered. He also inspected and tested all wiring.

He was to make more tests of the system on March 20.

Mr Locke became involved in the clock restoration project after talking to Mr

Valenta, who he met through the St Rose Knights of Columbus.

"We needed somebody who knew about electricity and batteries," Mr Valenta

said. "I recruited him."

Mr Locke said the restoration project is "not for the novice." Special tools

and expertise are required when working with the clocks and the batteries.

Committee members expect the power source for the clock system to be in place

by the end of this month.

Mr Valenta recently removed the battery cabinet, which was in disrepair, and

replaced parts and reassembled the cabinet. It was expected to be ready by the

end of this week.

In February, when the project started, Mr Blackwell provided the group with

copies of the Standard Electric catalog for 1935, which helped them learn

about the system and to identify its components.

Because of that, the committee was able to find and identify a discarded

secondary movement, the clock case and bezel for the boiler room clock, and

the original battery charger.

The committee members said they have now located all mechanisms to reinstall

in the secondary or slave clocks. In 1983, several of the secondary movements

were changed to battery operated quartz movements so the slave clocks in the

various town offices would keep accurate time.

Two of the movements were donated by members of the committee, Mr Katzin, from

his personal collection, and Mr Locke, who found a 1939 model that can be

adapted for use with the town hall system. Other parts were located through

the clock chapter's members and elsewhere.

Mr Valenta said, "At every one of these meetings, we make a giant stride

toward completion of the project."

The system was expected to be powered up, but not working by the end of March,

according to Mr Valenta.

By the end of this month, the committee expects to have the movements

identified for the seven secondary, or slave, clocks and the master clock

mechanism cleaned and restored.

Mr Valenta said that once the clock system is up and running, members of the

clock association chapter will donate their services to maintain it in the

future.

As for the tower clock, Mr Zasada has assessed the condition of the motor for

the bell in the tower clock and found it is restorable. There was no evidence

of extreme wear. Once custom made replacement brushes for the motor have been

installed, the motor should work.

"We know the system has power," Mr Valenta said. "It may only need cleaning

and relubrication. There was nothing to indicate when any work was done on

it."

The dial on the north side of the tower clock is cracked and may require

replacement. The dial on the west side is broken and may never have had a

clock mechanism. The committee's recommendation is that it be covered with an

aesthetically pleasing cover, as the area is not very visible.

On the fourth of July at noon, the Edmond Town Hall tower clock will strike 12

for the first time in over a decade. It will continue to mark every hour from

that time forward as will all the clocks within the town hall.