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<DIV>The Town Clock was purchased in 1995 to commemorate the Town's 75th
anniversary. The cost of the clock ($25,000) was totally paid with
donations from residents and businesses. To see a complete list of donors,
see <U>The Riverdale Story: Mansion to Municipality</U>, pages vii,
viii.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>The Verdin Company of Cincinnati, Ohio made the clock. This
company dates back to 1842 and continues as a family business over
the last six generations. Some of the national sites
that display a Verdin clock (or clocks) are the Smithsonian, Notre Dame, the
Mayo Clinic, and the National Basilica in Washington, D. C. plus others
that can be seen on the Verdin website. This is a well-made clock that
should be respected and maintained.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>As this was my project, I oversaw the maintenance of the clock from 1995 to
2001. The console is located in the Gordon Wells building at Town Center
under an arrangement with Mr. Wells and an annual token payment was
agreed upon to cover electricity.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>The chimes were programmed to ring from 7 or 8 am to 11 pm. The clock
has a surge protector that shuts down the chimes when an electrical storm
or power outage occurs. A manual is available at Town Hall (or by request
from Verdin) that outlines the operation of the clock. I was able to
reboot the chime operation when the surge protector shut it down.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>I learned to make basic adjustments and, on a few occasions,
called a certified Verdin repair specialist in. The fee(s) were
reasonable. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>The clock operated dependably over the six years that I monitored its
status. If no one has taken on the oversight of its operation, then no
call has been made in the past five years for a Verdin specialist
to lubricate and check out the mechanical system. I know there
are many residents very well qualified as computer specialists -- far
beyond the knowledge I had on the subject. If one person would read the
manual and take note of the time and the status of the chiming just once each
week, I feel the clock would operate very dependably. Of course, it would
be important to determine whether any routine maintenance has been done in the
past five years. I know the Town budget has discretionary categories
that would permit such modest maintenance expense with little problem.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Also, the clock is equipped with chips that will provide an assortment of
chime programs -- patriotic, traditional, seasonal, etcetera. Again, that
process is not prohibitive to operate and I recall when the Veterans Monument
was dedicated that Rob was good enough to play the patriotic chime program at
the end of the dedication.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Hope you will keep the Anniversary Clock as something "special" about the
Town.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> Ann
Ferguson</DIV></FONT></BODY></HTML>