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Keeping up with the time: Lisbon clock works again
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Columbiana County Commissioner Jim Hoppel inspects the inside of the courthouse clock. Efforts are underway to repair and restore the clock atop the historic Columbiana County Courthouse in downtown Lisbon.
LISBON — The clock atop the Columbiana County Courthouse quietly went back into operation Thursday.
So far, Commissioner Jim Hoppel said, it’s right on time.
“The gears are working,” Hoppel said. “Other than that, there was nothing wrong with it.”
The prominent clock, he pointed out, “may run for another 75 years.”
The real problem was that the clock had not been maintained over the years, Hoppel said.
The clock mechanism needed new bushings and a new motor. There was a crack in one of the four rods that connect to the hands on one of the four clock faces. And the clock has been set for daylight-saving time.
The clock hands run constantly and don’t jump from minute to minute.
The clock was installed about 1936 and hasn’t worked for about five years, said Hoppel, who oversees county properties.
A clutch will be added to the clock mechanism. The commissioner said that if there were a malfunction with a rod to one of the clock faces, it would turn once and then stop operating instead of burning out the motor.
Bill Alexander of Winona did the work on the clock mechanism, and he’ll make the clutch, Hoppel said.
The original clock mechanism apparently ran on old batteries that were found in the bell tower. The clock may be tied into the courthouse’s electrical system, which includes large backup generators.
The commissioner isn’t sure when that work will be completed, or what it will cost.
Hoppel said that there is more work to be done in the tower. There is a crack in one of the glass clock faces that needs to be repaired.
The tower bell can be rung by pulling a rope. It does not work automatically.
The commissioner added his thanks to preservationists who want to help repair the courthouse tower.
Craig Brown, the county recorder, has been raffling a guitar to help raise money through the Lisbon Landmark Foundation to help pay for courthouse renovations. He could not be reached.
The proposed improvements are the latest in a series of courthouse projects, including restoring the worn courtrooms, replacing the windows, installing new heating and cooling systems and painting.
wilkinson@vindy.com