Date Posted:14:34:06 06/20/09 Sat Author: Mike Mullis 1968 Subject: Re: Tech Trivia Question No. 18 In reply to:
Glenn Holle
's message, "Re: Tech Trivia Question No. 18" on 10:50:48 06/15/09 Mon
Decided to do a G search. Found the following clock info:
"The clock works, enclosed in a glass case on the sixth floor of the tower, are wound by hand, taking four to five minutes to wind. The heavy weights extend down two stories through a shaft. The clock was installed July 6, 1867. A huge bell is mounted on the tower. The clock faces are six feet in diameter. The hands have been replaced twice: the first two sets were of wood; the last of metal.
This Arsenal clock was the clock-setter for residents of Woodruff Place. Once, when the clock stopped, workmen found that a Yellow Hammer had become entangled in one of the wheels. When the bell began ringing again, neighbors were heard to remark, "It was like getting a letter from home."
In 1979, while working with the campus electrician, Don Yarnell, it was my weekly responsibility to climb those creeky ole stairs to wind the clock.
Those scary, leaning, stairs led me back in time. But even back then, we used a very large electric drill motor to do the winding. I think a handle hung on the wall inside the glass enclosure.
I recall the stair climb more than the number of turns.
