THE CLOCK TENDERS
by
Billy Shank & Hank van Berlo

THE CLOCK TOWER CLOCK  is Redstone’s most prominent icon. It was manufactured by the Seth Thomas Clock Company, Thomaston, Connecticut in 1901 and installed in 1902 during the tower construction and before the roof was enclosed.

Turn of the century village life ran as villages do, governed mostly by the rising and setting of the sun, but company life in a company town marched to a different beat which ran on a 24-hour schedule. For them the day was divided into day, swing and night shifts – each with their own divisions of work duties, mid-shift meal and a break if you were lucky and the straw boss wasn’t watching too closely. The workers that manned the coke ovens were going on and off  shift, children were going and coming from school, wives were washing, shopping, and attending night school, mules were harnessed and shod, and the company store opening and closing.  The only practical way to schedule and synchronize all of village life was with one clock. A big clock. With a big bell. And that bell rang hourly, day and night. And someone had to take care of that most important centerpiece of village life, the all-important organizer of wake and work, work and eat, work  and sleep. The Big Clock.

“The big clock in the Redstone Inn tower regularly tolls out the hours now, its rich tones reverberating up and down the valley.”- Camp and Plant Magazine,  Nov. 15, 1902.

The tiny clock “room” in the tower powers the weights and assemblies and was designed to accommodate the two story drop required for 100 pound weights.  At first impression when entering the room is that inside is a monstrous version of your grandmother’s old foot powered sewing machine only with more bells and whistles.  In fact, it is  a super-sized grandfather clock on steroids and like a grandfather clock it needs to be wound every week.  One assembly drives the clock and the other strikes the bell.  Both assemblies must be “wound” or “cranked” regularly in order for the clock to function on a weekly basis.  The main drive shaft of the clock is vertical in orienta­tion and fits into a gear and universal joint system making a 90-degree transfer of the power to each of the four clock faces or dials in the tower.  Today the clock faces are plastic, but pieces of the original 1902 glass two foot diameter faces are still in the tower.

The entire brass clockwork body with its green cast iron base. The spool on the left is connected to a 2-story pulley/weight system that ultimately gears down its force to a simple dollar-sized escapement that is balanced and keeps the watermelon sized pendulum oscillating in equal rhythm.
The entire brass clockwork body with its green cast iron base. The spool on the left is connected to a 2-story pulley/weight system that ultimately gears down its force to a simple dollar-sized escapement that is balanced and keeps the watermelon sized pendulum oscillating in equal rhythm.
These adjustable gears independently connect to each clock face to set the correct time to each clock face.
These adjustable gears independently connect to each clock face to set the correct time to each clock face.
A “carousel of gears” driven by the clockworks below that distributes the movement to each of the 4 clock faces.
A “carousel of gears” driven by the clockworks below that distributes the movement to each of the 4 clock faces.
This copper Seth Thomas plaque marking the date of manufacture (Oct 8, 1902), the serial number (1158), and the clockmaker (A.S. Hotchkiss).
This copper Seth Thomas plaque marking the date of manufacture (Oct 8, 1902), the serial number (1158), and the clockmaker (A.S. Hotchkiss).
The Tower clock bell is approx 18" in diameter and also cast in Thomaston, Connecticut by the Seth Thomas Clock Company. It is located high in the ceiling of the clockworks "room" that protects the clock from bad weather, animals, anything that can affect the operation of a massive, yet delicate piece of mechanical precision.
The Tower clock bell is approx 18" in diameter and also cast in Thomaston, Connecticut by the Seth Thomas Clock Company. It is located high in the ceiling of the clockworks "room" that protects the clock from bad weather, animals, anything that can affect the operation of a massive, yet delicate piece of mechanical precision.

Thankfully the Bell, although still in place, has been deactivated.  In today’s world, it is annoying. The bell was reactivated once at midnight on December 31, 1999 to mark the new millennium when it chimed twelve times. 

Clock tending has had its ups and downs, in-step with the financial fortune of the Redstone Inn.  Following the death of Frank Kistler in 1956, his “Grand Resort” plan crumbled.  This ambitious plan included a greenhouse enclosed swimming pool, two ski areas with only one rope tow operational , a plan for an 18 hole golf course with three holes open on the Castle lawn.  Projects were abandoned, properties were sold off, and the clock again came into another period of neglect.

Mid Continent bought the Inn in 1979 and previous owner Ann Van Dis continued as manager until they closed the property for a two year top-down renovation in 1981.  Billy Shank joined the team in 1980 and thus his forty year romance with the clock began.  Billy, with his father’s help, went above and beyond his duties and labored to make the clock the icon of Redstone again, but thankfully without the bell tolling.

Then following the “oil shale bust,”  Mid Continent was forced to sell the hotel. John F Gilmore bought the hotel in 1989.  That year, Jochen Wolf, with the help of a Glenwood watch-smith, got three of the four faces going, followed by the continued care of Rick Davis, then Steve Sheldon for almost 15 years but following the 2008 recession, the clock went dormant again.

Billy, with Mary Clements,  returned to resuscitate the clock in 2018 and Hank van Berlo joined the team in 2020.  It takes weekly care to keep it functioning.  Hank was recently able to re-activate the east facing clock face, now all four faces are in sync.  Tho, Hank admits that the north facing face is running one minute per week slower.

Though many of these clocks have fallen into disrepair, the Redsto­ne Inn clock has been beautifully preserved because of our dry air climate and affectionate care of the clock tenders.  Rumor is that in a tight space through the highest-most hatch above the bell are names of the early clock tenders.   Hank admits that he has yet to brave the very questionable “ladder” and take a peek through a small 12″ x 12″ in the belfry ceiling.

This inspiration for this piece originated with this
Bill Shank Article