Date: Fri 21-Jun-1996

Publication: Bee

Author: STEVEB

Quick Words:

Hawley-Clock-repair

Full Text:

with cut: The Hawley Clock Has No Tick Tock

B Y S TEVE B IGHAM

At half passed five a few years ago, the clock on the face of Hawley School

stopped ticking.

No one is exactly sure when it stopped telling time. Some say the hands on the

1927 timepiece came to a halt eight years ago, while others believe it was

more like 11 years. They figure it stopped for no other reason than the wear

and tear of more than a half century of use.

A group of fifth grade Hawley School parents and students are working to get

the clock up and running again. In addition to being one of the town's most

visible clock, the timepiece represents the living legacy of the town's

patroness, Mary Elizabeth Hawley. A living legacy should have a ticking clock.

Parents Barbara Cottingham and Judy Crane have led the push for the clock's

repair.

"We see Hawley School as one of the town's historic landmarks. We feel getting

the clock restored is important to maintaining Hawley School in the way Mary

Hawley would have wanted," she said.

Because the school district is currently tackling several larger maintenance

issues, the reparation of the mechanism is not high on the list, but Paul

Jahnke of "Grandfather Time" in Monroe has agreed to fix the clock, donating

much of his time at no cost. Mr Jahnke, an experienced clocksmith, has also

worked on the clock atop the Edmond Town Hall.

A company has also offered the use of its cherry picker, free of charge, to

remove and replace the clock, whose hands swing loose.

The generosity of Mr Jahnke and the cherry picker company has helped drop the

estimated cost from $3,000-plus to around $1,500.

Several recent graduating fifth grade classes have toyed with the idea of

having the clock fixed, but estimates were just too high.

Mrs Hawley had left a trust fund to help cover costs for maintenance needs

over the years, but the majority of that money has been used to pay architect

fees for the proposed building addition to the Church Hill Road elementary

school.

The parents have received several contributions from local businesses and are

seeking to raise more funds to support their cause.