Last Updated on 5/22/2013

Published on 9/12/2012

After years of time standing still in downtown Georgetown, nearly 3 hours sped by in a matter of minutes on Tuesday afternoon.
The Town Clock, which had been frozen on 4:27 for many years and then frozen on 12:00 for the past 10 days, began working again at 2:58 p.m.
“It’s very exciting,” said Jim Fitch, director of the Rice Museum.
Although the county owns the tower, Fitch oversees the nonprofit that takes cares of it.
The tower was struck by lighting on May 3, 2007. The clock then was idle for five years, four months and eight days.
Ryan Gardner, an installation technician with The Verdin Co., which made the clock, spent about 12 hours installing the new clock on Aug. 31.
Once the installation was done, Gardner had to wait for the electrical work to be completed before he could turn the clock on.
Gardner returned to Georgetown on Tuesday and started a process called “fast setting.” The hands on the clock then moved from 12:00 to 2:58 on their own.
One side of the clock is still awaiting Roman numerals. Fitch said one box could not be found when Gardner was here for the installation. Another box has been ordered.
According to Gardner, the new clock can be controlled from a smart phone or computer using a local area network, although the clock will reset itself twice a year for Daylight Savings and Eastern Standard Time.

By Chris Sokoloski
csokoloski@gtowntimes.com