{"id":10,"date":"2010-03-22T15:32:30","date_gmt":"2010-03-22T13:32:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/grandfatherclocks123.com\/clock-news\/?p=10"},"modified":"2024-02-19T03:13:01","modified_gmt":"2024-02-19T01:13:01","slug":"restoring-the-1911-seth-thomas-clock-from-the-new-bern-nc-city-hall-tower","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.grandfatherclocks123.com\/clock-news\/restoring-the-1911-seth-thomas-clock-from-the-new-bern-nc-city-hall-tower","title":{"rendered":"Restoring the 1911 Seth Thomas Clock from the New Bern, NC City Hall tower"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"new-bern-clock-tower\"The 1911 Seth Thomas Clock from the New Bern City Hall tower. <\/strong><\/p>\n

A group of volunteers have been restoring this fine tower clock since 2007. Dobert Owsley and other clock enthusiasts are from the National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors regional chapter.<\/p>\n

\"Tower<\/a>
Tower Clock in New Bern, NC<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

They will reach a milestone this Monday morning when their 2,800-pound prize work is moved from its worksite at the Broad Street fire station to its permanent home inside the great hall of the new $60 million N.C. History and Education Center on the South Front Street waterfront.<\/p>\n

It’s in the spirit of the 300th that we are doing all of this, Owsley said. It’s been a real community project, and many others have helped.<\/p>\n

He estimates the clockwork group has put in more than 1,200 volunteer hours on restoration at the Firemans Museum and later at the fire station.<\/p>\n

He said the total money spent is about $1,100, including $500 from the Firemans Museum through efforts by Alderman Sabrina Bengel.<\/p>\n

City records show the Seth Thomas clock was built and installed in 1911. It operated inside the New Bern Post Office and Customs Tower from 1911 to 1999.<\/p>\n

The clock was decommissioned in 1999 because of ongoing mechanical problems and long repair times. An electrical\/digital system now controls the clock faces and bell.<\/p>\n

The four-sided City Hall clock continues to tick, having been run by electric-driven motors since 1999. The volunteers spent two weekends dismantling and removing the clock from high in the city hall tower. Buckets of pieces were lowered by hand to the main floor through the building’s winding staircase, and ropes and pulleys handled larger pieces, with heavy lifting by five city employees. Working a few hours each Saturday, the volunteers diagnosed the clock’s needs, repainted it with the original green and black colors, cleaned it, reworked motors, replaced and rebuilt gearboxes and linkage, and fashioned a new temporary dial.<\/p>\n

The permanent cast iron clock pendulum will be more than eight feet long and weigh 325 pounds. A shorter one was installed for tests, and the clock was up and running by mid-summer of 2009.<\/p>\n

The restoration volunteers include Owsley, Michael Hattem, Glenn Irving, Fred Swartout, Kenneth Johnston, Robert Weeks, Sid Weiner, Francis Murphy, Edward Grey, and Yvonne Johnston.
\nIt will be the first thing visitors see when they enter and look up at its permanent home. There will be an inside three-foot dial and also a metal outside clock face. The goal is to have the dials completed by July in time for the fall opening of the history center.<\/p>\n

A lot of us are like me; you’ve always been busy someplace else doing things, and you reach a point where you say I want to do something for the community, he said. That’s where it comes from. And, the folks I’ve worked with on this, they love clocks.<\/p>\n

It will be a lasting gift.<\/p>\n

It will be running there for a long, long time, he said. Its all in the spirit of the celebration. All the nice things the get-togethers and picnics will all go away. But the clock will still be there.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The 1911 Seth Thomas Clock from the New Bern City Hall tower. A group of volunteers have been restoring this fine tower clock since 2007. Dobert Owsley and other clock enthusiasts are…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nRestoring the 1911 Seth Thomas Clock from the New Bern, NC<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Restoring this fine tower clock since 2007. 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