BEST-LOVED Clock in Town

BY NJ ACKERMANN

Ahundred years ago, an ornate, electrically-lighted Seth Thomas clock was installed on a street corner in front of a bank. Ticking along using the gravitational pull of weights, this clock simultaneously began a tug on the heartstrings of the townsfolk of Hammonton.

Day and night, it sent its greetings in its dapper green suit from the intersection of Central and Bellevue Avenues. No matter which direction it was viewed from, one of its wide four faces would shine back.

People saw it every time they waited at the traffic light, or when they walked by it on their way into the bank. It didn’t mind being stared at, climbed on, or if little fingers traced its decorations. One day a man ran it down with his truck and it was gone. The picture in the paper showed men in their 1928 baker-boy caps standing around the big fella all in pieces on the ground.

Soon, the People’s Bank & Trust Co., with assistance from the town jeweler, installed an identical twin on the same spot. The local painter added some bronze paint, and the corner had returned to normal with a new clock, just as green and a little more dandy.

For decades thereafter, mamas wheeled their babies past it in carriages, children ran by with their penny candy, and grownups counted on it to keep them on time. It became a focal point for celebrations, like the 1941 Diamond Jubilee, and a participant in many photos where it can be seen standing proudly in the background.

In 1957, there were rumors that it was going to be taken down. True or not, it was never removed, but was updated to an all-electric operation. No more pullies and weights. But the bank changed hands and in 1963 it was donated as a historical exhibit. The townspeople of Hammonton objected; they wanted it as their own. So, ownership of the clock was returned and it was, instead, gifted to the town.

Renting a crane, they found a new home for it where it now stands. However, when a cable snapped it fell and its cast-iron dome was cracked. Local business owner Fred DeClements came to the rescue by welding it, and by 1965 the repaired clock was keeping time in its new home one block away. Still on Central please see CLOCK, page 5

Avenue, it was now bordered by Vine and Third Streets in a neat little triangle all its own.

Once again, the clock happily ticked on for many decades, receiving a few new coats of paint along the way. Sometime after its 82nd birthday it stopped keeping time, and its suit grew ragged. They moved its hands to twelve o’clock and the dapper chap took a nap. For its Sesquicentennial celebration in 2016, Hammonton chose the grand old clock as its icon. After the celebration, surplus funds were earmarked for restoration, and a committee of seven members was formed. The whole town pulled together for their beloved clock. Committee co-chairs Bob Schenk and John Runfolo spearheaded the planning, designing and raising of funds to bring it back to grandeur. From the mayor to the mechanic to the townsfolk, everyone was on board and gave what they could.

“There are usually opposers to any project; rarely do you get 100 percent approval,” says Runfolo, a former advertising executive.

“Sometimes we received five dollars accompanied by a note,” Schenk says. “Whether it was five or five thousand, everyone got recognized.” He says they were either named in the newspaper or on the plaque now hanging in the town hall. “Over five hundred individuals donated and, believe it or not, we spelled everybody’s name right.”

And then there were those who donated in other ways. Local construction company ML Ruberton provided labor and materials to replace the rusted base. Green Giant Nursery reset and replaced broken pavers while Roof Wizard performed the power washing. Massarelli’s donated the stone planters and Ron’s Gardens the flowers. Electri-Tech hooked up the clock to make it run again, Action Auto Body advised on the gold leaf and paint, and the Hammonton Gazette generated publicity, all free of charge.

For a century, this town has kept their street clock in their hearts. Through disaster, destruction, damage and donation, they’ve rescued it. Now, after its facelift, costing about $100,000, it is reported to be one of only two functioning Seth Thomas street clocks left in the United States. More handsome than ever, its new dark green suit sets off permanent 14k gold leaf accents on scrolls, fleur-de-lis, and lion-faced gargoyles with gold rings in their mouths. Reinforced with steel, and with brighter lights and all new inner mechanisms, Hammonton’s grand street clock should stand for another 100 years. What a lucky clock.