Jack Fisher found inspiration in the Sunshine State.
“The idea for the Liverpool Clock Campaign started several years ago when a town clock was erected near the house my wife, Kay, and I own in Jupiter, Fla.,” said Fisher, the president of John E. Fisher Construction Company on Wetzel Road in Clay. “When we came home for the summer to Syracuse, I noticed a similar clock in the village of East Syracuse and decided to try to get support around a beautiful monument like this for the village of Liverpool.”
Last month, a two-sided “Howard Street” clock was erected on a brick foundation at Washington Park Point at the intersection of Oswego and First streets, facing Heid’s Corner. Manufactured by the Verdin Clock Company of Cincinnati, Ohio, the Victorian-style clock was installed by a Fisher Construction crew.
A dedication ceremony is scheduled for 5 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 18, and the public is invited.
Over the past year and a half, the Liverpool Clock Campaign raised $32,000 to pay for the project.
Donations were accepted from three dozen area businesses, such as Charles Heating & Air Conditioning, Heid’s of Liverpool, Nichols Supermarket and Young & Franklin. The major donors are recognized on bronze plaques at the base of the clock.
About 160 individuals and organizations also contributed $50 each, and those donations will be acknowledged with engraved bricks placed at the base of the clock tower. The sale of the memorial bricks will continue, Fisher said. They can be purchased by contacting the village clerk’s office.
The business contributions came to $20,000 dollars and the smaller donations added another $7,000.
Fisher was gratified by the community support. “It was good to see that people agreed that a clock like this in the center of our village would be a perfect asset to show our community pride,” he said.
Last month, the village board of trustees kicked in $5,000 from a federal “multi-modal” grant administered through New York state.
“The village board members were so impressed with our progress that they rounded out our pledges with an additional $5,000 from a grant they had for park beautification and maintenance,” Fisher said. “We found this to be a wonderfully supportive gesture by the village board. The final accounting isn’t done yet, but after donations of labor from Fisher Construction, the clock campaign should break even.”
Invitations to the Sept. 18 dedication have been sent to the primary donors, Fisher said, and the entire community is invited to attend. “There was no RSVP for this event but hopefully we’ll get a good turnout from our donors, as well as Mayor Gary White, village officials and residents,” he said.
“The clock campaign committee wants to thank the village board for its support and encouragement; the employees of Fisher Construction for their workmanship on the clock installation; Bill Asmus, village superintendent of public works, for his time and effort in making this project happen; and Ed DeLong for pounding the pavement and bringing in the donations,” Fisher said.
For information about the clock project, email [email protected], or call Bridgette Plessas at 652-3773.
