The Village of Richwood is known as the place where the clock chimes (or strikes) hospitality, but the Richwood Opera House’s bell has not rung in town for years. Pictured above is the bell in the clock tower of the historical building. The old mechanical ringer and the new electric one are both still in the clock tower.
(Photo submitted)
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Richwood’s clock tower may chime hospitality again soon.
Reddy Brown, chair of the Richwood Revitalization Committee, told committee members at a recent meeting that Mayor Scott Jerew has asked him to repair the clock.
“I inferred that that also meant get the bell ringing,” Brown said. “If we’re going to get the clock going, we might as well turn the bell on too.”
He said he will research how much it will cost to repair the clock.
“There’s a couple really good guys on village staff electrically that can help me figure out what might need to be replaced because if there is a bill then I got to ask the mayor how might we pay for it,” Brown said.
He added that there is a maintenance fund in the village’s general budget for the building, so the Village Council may approve the expenditure to repair the clock.
“All but the east clockface will work. The other three are mechanically attached to the clock. So, we’ve got to get electric to the clock. There’s no electric there now,” Brown said. “There used to be lights in the clock tower, but they’re gone at this moment. So, we need to get the electric back to the clock tower, and turn the clock on to see what’s going on.”
If the council does not provide the funding, the committee will need to budget for an electrician to correct the building’s electrical circuit.
Additionally, Vice Chair Aaron Smith, who was absent on Thursday, has been documenting the clock’s history. According to his report, he recently learned that “some information I was looking for contained in the historical records of Seth Thomas (Clock) Company has been lost to time and a volume of records is missing from the rest of the National Watch and Clock Museum in Columbia, Pennsylvania.”
“We were invited to join Chapter 134 of the National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors, which is a special interest chapter that focuses on tower and street clocks,” Smith wrote in his report.
He added that “members have access to the information the chapter has compiled over the years.”
The committee agreed to spend $10 to join the association for a year. Smith offered to contribute the funds.
In other business, the committee:
– Received a total of $549 in donations since the November meeting.
– Submitted a grant agreement to the State Controlling Board for approval to receive $50,000 from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, which was awarded to the committee from the 2020 capital budget. The committee has assigned those funds for architectural work and the feasibility study. Village Council paid Triad Architects roughly $34,000 for their work on the conceptual design of the building. The committee will refund the council when it receives the 2020 capital funds. The committee is also completing paperwork to receive the $150,000 awarded by the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission from the 2022 capital budget to repair trusses in the building.
– Discussed submitting an application for a grant from the Union County Foundation. Gail DeGood-Guy said the foundation is “eager” for the committee to apply for a grant, which can be used for developing a solution to a community problem, improving the quality of nonprofits, strengthening the region’s economy and encouraging volunteerism, civic and community involvement. There are quarterly deadlines for submission, so the committee could apply for a grant in April.
– Agreed to pursue hiring Michael Hurwitz from Telesolve Company in Reynoldsburg for the feasibility study. Brown said he approached the council at its first meeting of the year and was encouraged to follow-up with Hurwitz with Sarah Barr unavailable for the project.
– Announced that Richwood Coffee and the Richwood Opera House Facebook pages have shared a video featuring DeGood-Guy to promote fundraising for the Richwood Opera House through a coffee fund.
– Discussed brainstorming fundraising ideas for the spring, which will be presented at the next committee meeting.
– Scheduled a clean up day at the building for Saturday, Feb. 9, from 9 a.m. to noon.
The committee will meet on Thursday, March 9, at 7 p.m. at the municipal building.