Restored Tower Clock to be re-dedicated on June 25
History will be repeated when the Tower Clock on the Brockport United Methodist Church is re-dedicated on June 25. That is the date in 1914 when the clock was first dedicated 104 years ago, reportedly attended by 1,500 people seen in the adjoining photo. The re-dedication ceremony at the church, 92 Main Street, will begin at 4:30 p.m. (see side bar). It is hosted by the Village of Brockport Board of Trustees and the Brockport Lions Club. Special activities will begin at 3:30 p.m.
The clock had stopped for about a year and was removed for repair on July 13, 2017, by the Essence of Time Tower and Street Clock Experts in Lockport. A second operation on October 16 was a project to remove the hands on the western face of the clock, originally not reachable because power lines were in the way. In the continuing Tower Clock saga, the repaired clockworks were installed on April 26 and made ready for start-up on the day of re-dedication. The three-stage Tower Clock project is detailed in three articles in Westside News newspapers covering the details of the mechanism and logistics of the work (see footnote references).
“The clock being re-dedicated is a Seth Thomas Tower Clock. Seth Thomas was America’s pre-eminent clockmaker in the period between 1813 and his death in 1859,” states Bill Andrews, Brockport Village Historian and former Village Trustee and Deputy Mayor. “The company went through several mergers or acquisitions but remained in the business of manufacturing clocks until 2009, nearly two centuries after its founding. The tower clocks were produced from 1873 until 1941.”
Charles Roeser, the clock expert who owns the Essence of Time company, said, “We know that Seth Thomas Company made 3,200 of these tower clocks, all different models and sizes,” adding that they made 600 of the Brockport model. The clockworks with its original parts never failed. “It was the gears behind the hands that froze up,” Roeser said. He regretted that these clocks are slowly disappearing or have been converted to electric motors. He praised the Brockport clock’s preservation as unique in maintaining its original cable, weights, and pully system to power it. And, the intricate clockworks standing on the tower floor with original parts has been refurbished to its original condition.
The restoration of the clock was paid for by a grant from the Rochester Area Community Foundation and donations to a fund drive organized by the Brockport Lions Club.
Get there early for activities from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. Tours of the church tower by members of the Brockport Lions Club; free ice cream in Sagawa Park donated by Jimmy Z’s; free commemorative keepsakes donated by the Brockport Lions Club (both while supplies last); and free children’s activities, organized by the MOMS Club of Brockport. A reception will be held in the Parish Hall of the church immediately after the 4:30 p.m. ceremony.
The public is urged to attend this momentous event in Brockport’s history.
Note: For the articles, in sequence, in Suburban News and Hamlin-Clarkson Herald, here are the links. Or, go to www.westsidenewsny.com and click on “Archives.”
https://westsidenewsny.com/features/2017-06-26/the-time-and-the-chime-to-be-restored-in-brockports-tower-clock/
https://westsidenewsny.com/features/2017-10-30/personal-connections-and-generous-
support-keep-brockports-tower-clock-project-on-course/
(Includes photo of restored clockworks.)
Re-dedication of the Tower Clock
Brockport United Methodist Church
4:30 p.m., June 25, 2018
PROGRAM
Invocation – Pastor Meg Morin Vosburgh
Brockport United Methodist Church
Pledge of Allegiance
Moment of Silence
Welcome – Margay Blackman
Mayor of Brockport
Remarks – Aimee Gonzales
Brockport Lions Club
Remarks – Chuck Roeser
Essence of Time
History of the Clock – Bill Andrews
Brockport Village Historian
All singing “America”
Music before and after the ceremony
provided by members of the
Brockport High School Band
