While not exactly a scientific fact, by mixing government with a community's pride in its street clocks, chances are good an explosion is bound to follow "" of sentiment.
I recently pointed out Milwaukee as an example where an overambitious mayor and several firefighters simply began tearing down street clocks one day, calling them sidewalk obstructions to firefighters. Many complaints and lawsuits followed.
Oneonta lost its 1880s town clock in 1967 to urban renewal, atop the former Westcott block, where the parking lot next to the Ruffino Mall on Main Street is now found. The clock was missed for several years, but now an effort is underway to restore and display parts from the old clock after being in storage the last four decades.
Richfield Springs has an icon for a clock in today's Spring Park, on U.S. Route 20. It was a gift of Thomas R. Proctor to the village in 1918. The clock wasn't originally in the park, as it was placed in the middle of the intersection of U.S. 20, with Lake Street to the south and Church Street to the north.
Back in 1953, the state Highway Department said the clock needed to be moved. What began was a nine-year tug-of-war between the state and then federal governments, and Richfield Springs residents wanting the landmark to be kept in place.
At first, the state Highway Department played the nice guy in the controversy. "Nothing will be done," said Roger T. Bennett of the Traffic Division until, "the people are in agreement" about the clock's removal, reported The Richfield Springs Mercury on April 20, 1953.
Mayor Harold Congdon heard plenty of comment about the clock. At the village board meeting in March, Congdon and the board approved the removal.
The state Traffic Division's opinion was that the clock presented several problems, including roadblock, obstructing view of a new traffic light, not providing an island of safety for pedestrians and a hazard when larger vehicles passed on the left-hand side of the clock.
Letters to Mayor Congdon were frequently published in the Mercury, and countered these points, as well as expressed sentiment for a source of community pride.
A.H. from Springfield Center wrote, "It would be a great loss on those grounds alone "" not to mention the loss of a historical landmark."
"As far as being a traffic hazard, anyone going so fast that they do not see or find the clock annoying to them "" is traveling too fast in a populated area. Let's keep it around," wrote H.L.P. from Schuyler Lake.
There's always one wise guy. "Don't move it. I'm waiting for someone to hit it," wrote G.H.P.
Traffic was very heavy on Route 20 in 1953, but that all changed the following year when the New York Thruway opened. The controversy pressed on, nonetheless. Richfield Rotarians voted overwhelmingly to leave the clock where it was in March 1955.
The clock remained, despite a big paving project that summer when it was predicted the clock would go.
The controversy peaked in July 1962, when then-Mayor Anthony Vertucci sent an appeal to the state Dept. of Public Works to keep the clock in place. Vertucci also wrote an appeal to then Rep. Samuel Stratton, but Stratton said the decision would remain with the state, yet promised he'd put in a good word for him to Gov. Nelson Rockefeller.
The governmental merry-go-round continued but it was finally determined the clock had to go, though only a few yards northeast of the busy intersection, where it remains today.
The clock, designed by Gorham, still works well in its highly visible location. Through a campaign spearheaded by Marjorie Walters, president of the Richfield Springs Historical Association, the clock was restored between 2002-05.
On Monday: A resurgence of local hop growing, after Prohibition was lifted.
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City Historian Mark Simonson's column appears twice weekly. On Saturdays, his column focuses on the area during the Depression and before. His Monday columns address local history after the Depression. If you have feedback or ideas about the column, write to him at The Daily Star, or e-mail him at simmark@stny.rr.com. His website is www.oneontahistorian.com.
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