Just in ‘Time’ for New Year, Some Historic Clock Repair

A work crew from the Verdin Clock Company of Ohio came to La Grange Monday to upgrade the mechanism that controls the clock on the Fayette County Courthouse.

The clocksmiths worked from a bucket hoisted by a crane from Ray’s Crane Service of La Grange.

Steven Svec, who heads courthouse maintenance for the County, said the four clock faces were actually four separate clocks that ran off a master controller. The old mechanism is obsolete, he said, and the County could no longer obtain parts.

Last year the County Commissioners budgeted funds to fix the clock.

“They had to remove the hands from each side and pull the timepieces out,” Svec said. “The new clock (mechanism) is mounted more in the center of the tower and has rods connecting to each face that control the hands.”