Benton County looks toward the past for the future

VINTON, Iowa - Time may not stand still in Vinton, IA, anymore if residents have anything to say about it.

Instead, they want to go into the future by bringing back the past: restoring the Benton County Courthouse clock that has not rung out across the town for decades.

While some say the familiar half hourly ring has not sounded since the 1960s, others say it ended closer to 20 years ago. The clock's hands have not reached out to tell time since around 2008. No one really knows the timeline of the deterioration of the small town icon, but community leaders do want to change it.

'I want to get it restored and start running again,” said Robert Spangler, chairperson on the Benton County Historical Preservation Commission. 'It's a big part of the community, and most courthouses have a clock and bell and I think it would be nice to hear it again.”

The clock was installed in the courthouse in 1860, a building now registered on the National List of Historic Places, after a man donated $2,000 for the creation of the clock. Its old-fashioned features, such as having to be hand-turned every few days, became electrified around 1960, which clocksmiths say lead to the clock's ultimate demise.

Fixing the clock did not come up as an issue until a community member saw a story in The Cedar Rapids Gazette this winter about a town similar to Vinton fixing their own courthouse clock; the exact same model that is broken in their city.

A Benton County Historical Preservation Commission was formed, and they just applied for a state grant which, if received, would pay for about two-thirds of the clock at $32,000. Terry Hertle, a Benton County supervisor, said the goal is to get the rest of the $16,000 needed from voluntary means, or not taxing any citizens. He added the timing of the grant as well as the newspaper article were serendipitous in fixing the clock.

'Being as we have a chance to get the grant money without any money from taxpayers, we have the opportunity,” 69-year-old Hertle said. 'We want to restore it back to the pristine condition like it was originally in.”

If they do receive money from the grant, which will be announced on July 1, Hertle hopes to have the clock finished by the end of the year, or in the summer of next year at the latest. He is confident that the city will receive the funds they need, either from the grant or generous volunteers.

'If the state is giving out money, then why not give it to Benton County?” he said. 'If we don't get the money from the state, we would just have to work a bit harder to raise the money. But we already have almost all the money raised from people who will match donations.”

Spangler said it is important to preserve all historical buildings in the county, both because of appearance and quality.

'We need to preserve as much as we can for the future people [of Vinton],” he said. 'The quality of work is nothing today as it used to be; it doesn't have the quality or look. Some people like modern, but I like the older buildings, I think they look nicer.”

Most of the proponents for restoration of the historical clock are older, since it has been some time since the clock stopped running. Many memories were

formed around the presence of the clock, back when times were 'simpler.” Community members have said they would like to see the clock ring once again before they pass away.

'I've lived here for eighty-some years, and I loved that clock,” said Rodger Elbert, a committee member on the Benton County Historical Preservation Commission. 'When I was a kid I would drive down 4th St. and check my watch with the time [of the clock,] and now I'm kind of bothered it's been all these years and it still hasn't been fixed.”

Comments: lauren.coffey@thegazettecompany.com