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The clock in downtown Morganton, NC, chimes at 8 a.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 29. The clock chimed for the first time in decades after final repairs were made to it Tuesday. Video by Chrissy Murphy.
Early Wednesday morning, golden light cast a glow on the patinaed copper of the old McClintock clock as its melody rang in downtown Â鶹´«Ã½ for the first morning in decades.
Sunshine casts a golden hue onto the old McClintock clock hanging on the corner of South Sterling and West Union streets in downtown Â鶹´«Ã½ early Wednesday morning.
Chrissy Murphy photos, The News Herald
The clock, on a Wells Fargo building at the corner of Union Street and Sterling Street, hadn’t chimed or been lit since the late 1980s or 1990s. Scott Andrews, a clockmaker at Valdese Watch & Clock, said the clock has been a cornerstone in Â鶹´«Ã½ since the 1920s.
A GoFundMe that Andrews started for the clock renovations ended up raising more than $11,000 to restore the timepiece.
It took a few months to get all the parts needed to restore the clock, but after about six months of work from Andrews and Eric Storey, owner of Valdese Watch & Clock, the hands of time are moving again.
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Scott Andrews works on one of the faces of the clock in downtown Â鶹´«Ã½ on Tuesday, Jan. 28.Â
Chrissy Murphy, The News Herald
“It’s a dream come true for a lot of people,†Andrews said. “It’s like a symbol of Â鶹´«Ã½ that is right there with the courthouse itself.â€
Andrews finished putting the clock back together Tuesday, something he’s hoped to accomplish since he was a child.
Scott Andrews works on the clock on Tuesday, Jan. 28.
Chrissy Murphy, The News Herald
“Ever since I was a little boy, I’ve looked at this very clock and was fascinated with it,†Andrews said in early January. “In fact, this very clock got me interested in working with clocks to begin with. So this is a life’s dream come true, and I’m so glad to be able to see it through to fruition.â€
Eric Storey, left, and Scott Andrews work to install one of the faces on the old McClintock clock in downtown Â鶹´«Ã½ on Monday, Dec. 30.
Chrissy Murphy, The News Herald
Chrissy Murphy is a staff writer and can be reached at cmurphy@morganton.com or at 828-432-8941.
Sunshine casts a golden hue onto the old McClintock clock hanging on the corner of South Sterling and West Union streets in downtown Â鶹´«Ã½ early Wednesday morning.
