30 BUSINESS
IRON CITY INK
IRONCITY.INK
SIPS & BITES
HAPPENINGS
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MAY 2017
B’HAM BIZARRE
NECK OF THE WOODS
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AVONDALE/FOREST PARK
Art of mechanical clock preserved in digital age By JESSE CHAMBERS Mechanical clocks may seem like quaint, even useless relics in a digital age, but don’t tell Wesley Pyle, owner of Pyle’s C lock Shop in Avondale. Pyle — a former car and motorcycle mechanic — has made his living for 15 years cleaning, repairing and restoring clocks. In doing so, Pyle is preserving a tradition of craftsmanship, indulging a lifelong love of old things and helping his customers continue to enj oy obj ects of both practical and sentimental value — even in a time of cellphones and disposable watches. In fact, Pyle said he and others like clocks precisely because they’re not ultra-modern gadgets. “A lot of people are interested in clocks because they’re a useful piece of gear, but they’re antiques,” he said. “You can still wind them up every week, and they tell time.” “It’s the same with motorcycles,” Pyle said. “All the motorcycles I have are old. I don’t like dealing with newer stuff.” A native of West C hester, Pennsylvania, Pyle, 5 6, started working on motorcycles in Tuscaloosa when he was 13 , later working for Smith’s Sport C ycles for more than a decade. He was also 12 or 13 when he fell in love with clocks during a vacation trip to his grandparents’ Maine cottage, where a previous owner had left some old timepieces. ver summer started fiddling with them, le said t
became an obsession, something I’ve always had an interest in.” When Pyle and his wife moved to Birmingham in 2000, he began doing repairs for Payne’s C lock Shop in Homewood. When Payne’s closed in 2001, Pyle opened his own shop. “I was tired of working on cars,” he said. In 2008 , he moved the shop from English V illage to his quaint, 1900-vintage Q ueen Anne cottage on Fifth Avenue South — an appropriate location for his repair bench and large menagerie of old timepieces. There are kitchen clocks, vintage French and American wall clocks and a lot of grandfather clocks — even one from 198 4 that pla s the niversit of labama fight song The attraction is simple, according to Pyle. love machines, he said can look at something, figure out how it works, figure out what s wrong with it, take it apart and fi it guess that s m gift also love antique furniture. C locks are a really cool combination of antiques and machines.” Repairing clocks is largely a dying art, according to Pyle, but he stays busy, repairing about 4 00 or 5 00 clocks last year. ost of the clocks he works on are not e tremel valuable, according to Pyle. “They’re often old family pieces,” he said. “A lot of times,
Merchants form new group to push commercial growth East Lake’s commercial district is showing some life after a long decline, and a group of merchants and property owners have formed a new group to help accelerate this positive trend. The East Lake Business Alliance, currently with 10 members, was formed in November, according to V ince Amaro, owner of Estate Liquidators on First Avenue orth he group is not et organi ed officiall as an or nonprofit, but that hasn t hindered it so far, Amaro said. “There' s no president or anybody in charge,” he said. “We are all equal. We are pretty much on the same page about everything.” Amaro pushed to start the group, along with Robert Bouchillon of Burch C orporation on O porto Madrid Boulevard, and said he hopes all of the merchants in the area will j oin. O ther members include V ance Ballard
the work I do costs more than the clock is worth, but the clocks have a lot of sentimental value, and it’s worth it for [ customers] .” Pyle, who also makes house calls to clean or repair large grandfather clocks, said he hopes to continue in the trade for another 20 years. “It’s a lot easier on my back than leaning over a car engine,” he said.
PARKSIDE
EAST LAKE
By JESSE CHAMBERS
Wesley Pyle, owner of Pyle’s Clock Shop, has made a living for 15 years working on clocks. Photo by Jesse Chambers.
Vince Amaro, left, and Ed Finton. Photo by Jesse Chambers.
of B& B C onstruction and D r. T.C . Branch of O porto Animal C linic, Amaro said. The group has a clear purpose, according to Amaro. “We don’t want to have parades or events,” he said. “We are trying to address issues, solve problems and do something positive for the commercial area.” The group, which replaces a now-defunct merchants association, can fill a need to network different businesses in the neighborhood together,” said Ed Finton, owner of Four C orners Equipment on Fifth Avenue North. “It’s about working with the city to eliminate blight in the neighborhood,” Finton said. “We’re trying to get the area cleaned up where people are enticed to come in.” For more information, call 296-67 7 0.
26th annual Arty Party a fun event for a serious cause By JESSE CHAMBERS Birmingham AID S O utreach will host its largest annual fundraiser, the 26th annual Arty Party art auction, at B& A Warehouse in Parkside on May 7 at 3 p.m. roceeds will help , a nonprofit founded in 198 5 , continue providing a variety of free services, including HIV testing, prevention and education. But despite the event’s serious purpose, “it’s not a quiet, ‘ uptight’ art auction,” said J amie Whitehurst, BAO development director. “Arty Party is fun.” The event will feature about 25 0 pieces — including paintings, mi ed media, sculpture, lawn art and j ewelry — from more than 100 local and regional artists in a silent auction and about dozen more in a live auction. Attendees can sample hors d’oeuvres and enj oy entertainment from D evyani D ance
Photo courtesy of Birmingham AIDS Outreach.
C ompany, a belly-dance troupe, and String Theory, an eclectic pop band that plays everything from D ave Brubeck to Radiohead. Birmingham painter Tré s Taylor — a longtime Arty Party supporter — is the featured artist, according to Whitehurst. O ther artists include Paul Wilm, Frank Fleming, C hris D avis, V eronique V anblaere and D arrell Ezekiel. The auction serves as a reunion for BAO supporters, many of whom recall the horrific s D epidemic, according to Whitehurst. “Longtime friends and acquaintances reunite and share stories, hugs and laughter,” he said. “This common thread of being affected by HIV / AID S bonds us together in a very special way. “ Tickets are $ 5 0 and available online and at the door. C all 3 22-4 197 or go to birminghamaidsoutreach.org.