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Quasimodo lives!
Mar. 4th, 2005 10:43 pmSo we went to pick up my clock today, and the clock maker guys mentioned that they were doing work on the clock tower of the old town hall in Bordentown. And they asked if we wanted to see it.
What, are they kidding? Of course we did.
So we got to climb up in the clock tower and poke at all the mechanisms. Really nifty. Biiiig bell, with a twelve pound hammer. I can now say that I've helped wind up a town clock. Those are some big weights, believe me. There are an awful lot of pulleys involved to reduce the amount of torque the winder needs to apply, but it's still a little hard. We were surprised, though, by how small the actual mechanism was. The hands are three feet long, but the actual mechanism could fit on a card table. (Well, it would collapse the card table, since most of it looked like it was steel, but you get the picture.)
We went past the new town hall (they moved out of the old building years ago). In front, next to a bush, they have a headstone inscribed (something along the lines of) "Here lies the grave of the New Jersey Welfare State, 1978", with quotes about "we didn't know what the hell we were doing" from politicians of the area at the time. Not having been around in 1978, I'm not entirely sure whether this is intended to bemoan the death of the welfare state or celebrate it, but it's delightfully irreverent and rather surprising that it would actually be on town hall property. We were highly amused.
What, are they kidding? Of course we did.
So we got to climb up in the clock tower and poke at all the mechanisms. Really nifty. Biiiig bell, with a twelve pound hammer. I can now say that I've helped wind up a town clock. Those are some big weights, believe me. There are an awful lot of pulleys involved to reduce the amount of torque the winder needs to apply, but it's still a little hard. We were surprised, though, by how small the actual mechanism was. The hands are three feet long, but the actual mechanism could fit on a card table. (Well, it would collapse the card table, since most of it looked like it was steel, but you get the picture.)
We went past the new town hall (they moved out of the old building years ago). In front, next to a bush, they have a headstone inscribed (something along the lines of) "Here lies the grave of the New Jersey Welfare State, 1978", with quotes about "we didn't know what the hell we were doing" from politicians of the area at the time. Not having been around in 1978, I'm not entirely sure whether this is intended to bemoan the death of the welfare state or celebrate it, but it's delightfully irreverent and rather surprising that it would actually be on town hall property. We were highly amused.
