Nearly a century in the waiting, courthouse clock is installed

The missing piece of the puzzle, or should it be said, the four missing pieces of the puzzle, have finally found their home at the top of the Onaway Courthouse tower.

The near century long wait came to an end on Friday.

From the day Onaway mayor C.W. Bahel laid the cornerstone of the courthouse July 4, 1908, it always had been a dream of city residents to see a clock in the tower.

That dream became reality on Friday when Swem Service Company installed the four faces of the clock, the hands of the clocks, and the carillon system.

A ribbon cutting ceremony is set for Saturday, July 2 at 11 a.m. on the courthouse lawn. Patriotic music will be played from the new carillon system, before speeches from local dignitaries, and a tour of the restored building.

AS WHEN the building was first being constructed, the restoration of the courthouse has brought hope and new energy that there will be better days ahead for the city of Onaway.

An Inter-Lake article on the laying of the cornerstone from the July 10 stated “From this date we shall in days to come revert to July 4, 1908 and say from that time Onaway began to take on new life and intensified energy.”

With the sewer project continuing to move along, the addition to the Onaway school building and its new look, along with the work that has been done to the courthouse, the early part of the 21st Century also may be a time to remember by area residents.

Onaway founder Merritt Chandler, who donated the land and expended funds above the city appropriations to contruct the courthouse, would be proud of what the building looks like today.

THE FIRST floor and nearly the entire exterior of the building has been restored, and the second floor, which will house city offices, is expected to be ready by July 2, with city hall moving from its present State Street location to the courthouse soon after.

Ironically, the courthouse building was first called city hall by Onawayians, and now will be used for that same purpose.

Chandler had hoped Onaway would become the county seat and his magnificent building would house county offices, but that never materialized.

The installation of the clock started with the removal of the wooden circles that have been all that Onaway residents have had to look at for so many years.

The first step was centering the clock face in the hole. “There is a little bit of variance in the hole. They are not perfectly round, Once they are centered, mounted and anchored in, the impulse movement goes in and the hands are mounted,” said contractor Bill Swem.

“AFTER THAT step, we hang the light

bars behind it, and then the electrician will come in, wire the movement and the lights,” said Swem. “Once that is done, then the programmer will synch everything up to correct time so all four clocks read the same time.”

The light bars will make the clocks visible at night.

Swen Service was contracted to perform the work for Verdin Company of Cincinnati, Ohio. Bill Swen has been involved in replacing outdated clocks on courthouse buildings, but couldn’t recall a situation as unique as the one in Onaway, where the community has waited 97 years to get their first clocks.

The purchase of the clocks and music system was made possible by a donation from the estate of Paul and May Wagner, along with many other people who collected donations. The Wagners’ bequest of $128,000 put the project over the top.