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jTime again for the town• 4 _; clock to change handsBy KAREN GARDNER1 News-Post StaffFirst It' was. Then it wasn’t. Now it is. ; The Trinity Chapel clock, built in the- steeple of the Evangelical Reformed Church in 1007, changed hands once* again when city and church officials* reached'an agreement on its upkeep. As ^part of the pact, the old clock wasrecognized — once again — as Frederick* town clock.* *lt;3riginally paid for by the city,- ownership of the four-faced mechanism became vague as it became a popular; perch for the local pigeon peculation. City Public Works Director Robert L. Strine said the clock’s hands, when . pointing to the three or nine, are favorite- resting .places for pigeons. Occasion. . ally, the weight of the birds on the hands ; is tod much for the works, and time «■ Stands sttil in Frederick.And the old clock is expensive to maintain, even though the works were2 replaced in 1932.- Breakdowns always bring up the^question of who should pay for the ' repairs. The money ends up coming out ; of city coffers, but city officials have been reluctant to release the funds,* claiming the dock belongs to the church : and is the church’s responsibility.Representatives of the West Church* Street church have maintained the clockis the city’s responsibility, because the ” clock originally was purchased and installed by the citizens of Frederick. Last week, the two sides compro-» mised, with the city claiming formal* ownership of the clock. Mayor Ronald ' N. Young said the agreement formalized a heretofore unspoken understanding.In the agreement, the city acknowledged its ownership and agreed to continue repair and maintenance work on the internal clock works. The Church, in turn, will repair the clock’s exterior faces and the steeple, and will provide electricity to run the motor.The city always has paid for the repairs, with some hesitancy. “It’s their clock,” Young said last March, after the clock had failed and awaited repair for months.Young said the city returned full ownership of the old town clock to the church years ago. When it was built, Yount said, the Trinity Chapel clock was the town’s only outdoor clock. But as other timepieces were built in local church steeples, the Trinity Chapel mechanism lost its status as town clock, he said.The Rev. Frederick A. Wenner, pastor of Evangelical Reformed Church, said the city government donated the clock’s original wooden works to the Smithsonian Institute in the 1930s.Because the city then bought and installed a new electrical mechanism to run the clock, responsibility for repair rests with the city, Wenner said.Only sketchy details of the clock’s history exist, but according to city historic consultant Cherilyn Widell, it was first built in 1807 for the city. Wenner said the Trinity Chapel steeple apparently was the tallest in town at the time, and offered a highly visible home for the central timepiece.Now the sensitive clock — and its sensitive repair bills — are Frederick’s once again.
Newspaper Details
Frederick News Post Leader
Frederick, Maryland, US
Wed, Feb 13, 1985
Page 2
Full Page
Clipped by
Anonymous
USA 26 Mar 2022
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