Living in a world where people easily check their phone for the time or with a glance at their high-tech wrist watch, there is something nostalgic about an old pendulum or manual wind clock. Modern technology has made these clocks relatively obsolete resulting in them slowly being stored away, taking up space in attics collecting dust.
The Iola Register’s managing editor Tim Stauffer recently discovered such a clock, hidden away in the second floor of the newspaper’s office. Having been long-forgotten, the pendulum clock was in need of repair. Along with the obsolescence of these clocks, their repair has also become a dying art. Stauffer was able to find a local business still offering these services — Jones Jewelry.
Owner JoAnn Butler has taken on the challenging task of returning the Register’s clock to its original glory.
Butler has been the owner and at the helm of Jones Jewelry since 1999, but has been working at the store and doing clock repairs for the better part of 56 years. Being the only locally-owned business providing the service, she stays busy.
The ability to find parts is one of the biggest hurdles Butler faces in her repair services. She often has to search eBay when looking for replacement parts. That’s part of the difficulties of changing technology — items are no longer manufactured when the technology has become antiquated. People will collect old movements and they will part them out and sell them, she noted.
“When you are able to find parts, they are expensive,” she said.
“You have to make do,” Butler said. “It’s a thing of the past because, nowadays, everyone has battery-operated clocks and watches. It took away all the watch and clock repair.” Battery-operated clocks and watches can be repaired by simply ordering new movements and placing them in, she said.
Clock repair usually consists of the total movement disassembly, inspection of all parts and noting worn or damaged items needing repair. At this point the loose parts are cleaned with a proper clock cleaning solution, worn parts and bushings are replaced, and all pivots are polished. The final procedures are to reassemble the movement and test it.
THE FIRST mechanical clocks were invented in Europe around the start of the 14th century and were the standard timekeeping device. The pendulum clock was later invented in 1656. These clocks were a mainstay for centuries of mankind. Today, your wristwatch can tell you not only the time but also your heart rate and whether you need to be walking more.
As technology is certain to continue in its advancement, the need for traditional clock repairs will likely become more and more minimal. 
“That’s a sad thing, but that’s the way it is,” said Butler. “A lot of people don’t even know what a manual wind watch is because everything has been operated by a battery for years.”
Of course, there will always be the occasional collector who will still need these repairs. With no plans of retirement in the near future, Butler will continue to offer this niche service.
The sound of gears and cogs in an old clock ticking away the hours, minutes, and seconds may one day be a thing of the past. It serves to remind us of a universal truth about time — it is fleeting. And an old pendulum clock’s greatest adversary, ironically, is time.
