‘Is it time yet?’
New clock tower by Hibbard isn’t so new
Photo by Sam Farley
Students pass by the latest, historic addition to campus.
On the route to Hibbard Humanities Hall, students’ heads turned in confusion and curiosity at the sight of a new clock placed along the sidewalk.
After a few days with no sign of the clock disappearing, the clock stopped standing out along the path as people got used to it.
This “new” clock isn’t so new, after all; it has a bit of history behind it. This is not the first time it has been on the UW-Eau Claire campus.
“The 1890-style street clock was purchased in May of 1986 from a company called Canterbury International,” said Troy Terhark, the facilities director at UW-Eau Claire.
Canterbury International is a fabricated metal products company based in Los Angeles, Calif. that has been making “architectural site furnishings since 1962,” according to their website.
The clock stayed on campus for 25 years until May 2011. It was then taken down and would stay hidden for seven years leading to the present.
“It was a center point on campus,” Gary Campbell, a former student of UW Eau Claire from the class of 1990, said. “It has been a point of reference for anyone on or anyone visiting campus.”
However, according to Greg Kocken, UW-Eau Claire archivist, it would take short of a year to actually put up the clock.
Kocken found an old edition of The Spectator from Jan. 22, 1987 in the university archives that says the clock tower was “installed over semester break, completing the campus mall.”
The newspaper edition included a small picture of the clock titled “Is it time yet?” and pictured former student Scott Flynn while he checked his watch.
“The clock was removed from its previous location at the Central Campus Mall during construction of Centennial Hall” Mike Rindo, assistant chancellor for facilities and university relations, said. “It was stored between Phillips Science Hall and the garage on the east side of Phillips Hall.”
Rindo said how it was always intended for the university to relocate the clock on campus, and saw the chance to do so with the Garfield Avenue construction. As of now, the clock does not function, as it needs a bit of maintenance first.
“We are working on making the necessary repairs, although it may take some time because of its age and condition,” Rindo said.
Spierings can be reached at [email protected].
Timothy Spierings is a fourth-year Spanish and journalism student. This is their eighth semester on The Spectator staff. They enjoy trying all types of new foods and listening to new music artists and are currently trying to learn the bass guitar.
