Below, Rick Balzer disassembles the clock movement; at right, a drawing of the “roundtop” model purchased by Groton, from E. Howard’s catalog, circa 1920.
THE NEED for a major overhaul became appar-
ent during a routine paint job a few years ago. “During exterior paintings on the Schoolhouse clock tower in the 1990s and 2000s, many areas of rotted wood were discovered and repaired,” says Director of Buildings and Grounds Tim Dumont. But during the recent painting, workers noted damage too extreme for a Band-Aid, and planning began for the current renovation. “It will ensure that this icon will continue to be seen atop the Schoolhouse,” Dumont says.
I. THE CLOCK The clock’s movement, weights, and pulleys will be installed on the second floor of the Schoolhouse, where they will be on display so students can understand how the clock operates.
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The clock’s face—currently just an empty black circle—seems stark and a bit puzzled without its gold-leaf numbers. At the turn of the 20th century, the two leading U.S. companies that made these hardy mechanical timepieces were Seth Thomas and E. Howard. The latter built Groton’s clock. Balzer Family Clock Works in Freeport, Maine, is restoring the Groton clock and all its weights, pulleys, and other components, as well as the numerals and markings on the clock’s face. The company restored a similar clock for City Hall in Portland, Maine, says Linda Balzer, the company president. Many of these clocks have been scrapped over the years, but not because they failed. “They’re built to last, and when you need to have some work done on them, there’s something to work with,” Balzer says. “They’re always restorable. There is at least one that was built in the 1300s that is still running.” Balzer Family Clock Works will clean and remove rust from plates, shafts, and gears inside the clock, and will clean, prime, paint, and gild the numerals and hands of the face. After the restoration, the clock will have automatic winding mechanisms or the option to wind manually; up until now, it was only manually wound (often by shop teacher Doug Brown or Spanish teacher Andy Anderson). “It’s a lot of cranking,” Balzer says. “It takes some strength and it takes a lot of time to wind it up.” In addition to being ready for another century, the historic clock will become an educational tool. The clock’s movement, weights, and pulleys will be installed on the second floor of the Schoolhouse, where they will be on display so students can understand how the clock operates.