City clock back where it should be
By Adam Jerome, I-O Reporter
On Oct. 2 the Conrad Centennial Celebration will get under way with the dedication of the old town clock. The dedication will bring over 30 months of time and 1,200 man hours to fruition.
Standing over 11 and a half feet tall, over 42 inches wide and weighing nearly 800 pounds, the clock is quite the spectacle. Inside are four different clock faces with individually cut glass for each. The face itself contains over 600 pieces of leaded glass.
The clock used to be lit with incandescent light bulbs, but now is powered with state of the art fluorescent lighting.
The clock also contains a speaker system with a music chip that can play up to 300 different tunes depending on the occasion.
The town clock was originally built in 1927 at a cost of $1,400 and built by McClintock Clock Company. It sat at the First National Bank for 30 years.
The McClintock Clock Company was founded 1908 and in business until 1950. Based out of Minneapolis they specialized in clocks for banks and other financial institutions usually with an outside mounted fancy clock for public viewing, often displaying the institution name along with dials made up of fancy leaded glass.
The clock sat at the bank until 1956 when a storm of golf-ball sized hail badly damaged it. The original clock was replaced in 1958 with another clock, be it not as detailed.
After its removal the clock sat at Dick Preputin’s farm for nearly 50 years. In the late nineties a few community minded citizens, led by Francis Erickson and Harold Olson got the idea to restore the clock back to its natural beauty and rightful place of prominence.
After many fund-raising efforts like the “Save the Clock” initiative and generous donations from numerous community members and former community members, the $9,000 it would cost for the restoration was collected.
15 community members have donated their time to help with the project. Harold Olson commented, “Whenever we really needed some help, there were always people willing to donate their time and give us a hand.”
While almost all of the restoration has been done in the community, a few pieces had to be completed elsewhere. For example, Robert Butts in Minnesota, a tinsmith who restores McClintock clocks as a hobby made the arm covers.
When the clock is put in place atop the Production Credit Services at the corner of 4th and Main, it will be shielded by Plexi-glass to protect it from nature, and general wear and tear.
Olson talks about what the clock will mean to Conrad, “Every town has something to be proud of, be it a moniker or a landmark. Well now Conrad has the Clock. Hopefully people will come off the interstate to see it and while they’re here they will stay to see the rest of the city.”
On Oct. 2 the Conrad Centennial Celebration will get under way with the dedication of the old town clock. The dedication will bring over 30 months of time and 1,200 man hours to fruition.
Standing over 11 and a half feet tall, over 42 inches wide and weighing nearly 800 pounds, the clock is quite the spectacle. Inside are four different clock faces with individually cut glass for each. The face itself contains over 600 pieces of leaded glass.
The clock used to be lit with incandescent light bulbs, but now is powered with state of the art fluorescent lighting.
The clock also contains a speaker system with a music chip that can play up to 300 different tunes depending on the occasion.
The town clock was originally built in 1927 at a cost of $1,400 and built by McClintock Clock Company. It sat at the First National Bank for 30 years.
The McClintock Clock Company was founded 1908 and in business until 1950. Based out of Minneapolis they specialized in clocks for banks and other financial institutions usually with an outside mounted fancy clock for public viewing, often displaying the institution name along with dials made up of fancy leaded glass.
The clock sat at the bank until 1956 when a storm of golf-ball sized hail badly damaged it. The original clock was replaced in 1958 with another clock, be it not as detailed.
After its removal the clock sat at Dick Preputin’s farm for nearly 50 years. In the late nineties a few community minded citizens, led by Francis Erickson and Harold Olson got the idea to restore the clock back to its natural beauty and rightful place of prominence.
After many fund-raising efforts like the “Save the Clock” initiative and generous donations from numerous community members and former community members, the $9,000 it would cost for the restoration was collected.
15 community members have donated their time to help with the project. Harold Olson commented, “Whenever we really needed some help, there were always people willing to donate their time and give us a hand.”
While almost all of the restoration has been done in the community, a few pieces had to be completed elsewhere. For example, Robert Butts in Minnesota, a tinsmith who restores McClintock clocks as a hobby made the arm covers.
When the clock is put in place atop the Production Credit Services at the corner of 4th and Main, it will be shielded by Plexi-glass to protect it from nature, and general wear and tear.
Olson talks about what the clock will mean to Conrad, “Every town has something to be proud of, be it a moniker or a landmark. Well now Conrad has the Clock. Hopefully people will come off the interstate to see it and while they’re here they will stay to see the rest of the city.”
Centennial geocaching for history
For the Centennial Celebration, Jennifer Schlepp has set up and hidden some History items for the technology minded folks.
You will need a GPS devise to Geocaching, which is a worldwide scavenger hunt where people find caches using GPS.
Following are some the cashes that will be set for Saturday;
Lugnite N48.10.203 W 111.56.668, “3r’s#1” N 48.10.128 W 111.56.930, “Building Blocks” N 48.09.809 W111.56.929, “City Limits” N48.10.058 W111.57.573, “3r’s #2” N 48.10.311 W 111.56.850, and “Pre-Conrad” N 48.10.000 W111.56.304 .
When you find a cache, sign the log book and if you have something to trade, exchange for one of the items in the cache.
Happy hunting with technology and have fun learning some history of Conrad.
Street blocked for celebration
Motorists need to be aware that on Friday and Saturday, parts of Main St. and 4th Ave. will be blocked off for the Conrad Centennial Celebration.
Friday, parts of 4th Ave. and Main St. will be blocked off for the dedication of the clock, from about 5 to 6:15 p.m.
If you park your car on Main St. for the parade on Saturday, you are asked to remove it immediately after the parade because the 300-400 blocks are going to be roped off for the Auto Show and vendors.
Mayor to run as write-in; mail ballot information
Incumbent Mayor John P. Shevlin has filed as an official declared write-in candidate for the November election.
Votes for Shevlin and for any other declared write-in candidate, will count, as long as the full name is present and the box is checked. No votes will be counted for undeclared write-in candidates.
The aldermen races in Conrad each have a candidate who filed by the filing deadline.
In this case, if you are a voted in Ward 1, Karla Breding will be listed on your ballot. Breding was appointed to fill the seat of Gary Brown who resigned and is running for the first time.
In Ward 2, Wendy Curry Judisch will be on the ballot seeking a second term on the council.
Since there are candidates who filed for these offices, no undeclared write-in votes will be counted.
There is still the possibility of a declared write-in for each of these offices and in that event, the votes for the candidate printed on the ballot as well as the votes for the declared write-in would be counted.
Remember, with a write-in candidate, a vote is not a vote unless the full name is written on the line and the box is checked.
If the box is not checked the vote cannot be counted whether the person is a declared write-in candidate or undeclared.
In Valier, the ballot will be completely blank as no candidates filed for any of the positions.
There is one declared write-in candidate for the position of Mayor and that is McKenzie A. Graye.
For the alderman position in Ward 1, Rodney J. Christiaens has filed as a declared write-in candidate. Another individual also filed as a declared write-in candidate; however, he did not meet the residency requirements to represent Ward 1.
There are neither candidate filings nor declared write-in candidates in Ward 2 in Valier
Applying the laws to counting votes in the Valier election, votes for Graye will count for mayor and no votes for undeclared write-ins can be counted. In Ward 1, votes for Christiaens will count but no undeclared write-in votes will count.
In Ward 2 of Valier, no one filed either as a candidate or as a declared write-in candidate.
Unless a person files as a declared write-in by the Oct. 8 deadline, all undeclared write-in votes will be counted.
Votes for Shevlin and for any other declared write-in candidate, will count, as long as the full name is present and the box is checked. No votes will be counted for undeclared write-in candidates.
The aldermen races in Conrad each have a candidate who filed by the filing deadline.
In this case, if you are a voted in Ward 1, Karla Breding will be listed on your ballot. Breding was appointed to fill the seat of Gary Brown who resigned and is running for the first time.
In Ward 2, Wendy Curry Judisch will be on the ballot seeking a second term on the council.
Since there are candidates who filed for these offices, no undeclared write-in votes will be counted.
There is still the possibility of a declared write-in for each of these offices and in that event, the votes for the candidate printed on the ballot as well as the votes for the declared write-in would be counted.
Remember, with a write-in candidate, a vote is not a vote unless the full name is written on the line and the box is checked.
If the box is not checked the vote cannot be counted whether the person is a declared write-in candidate or undeclared.
In Valier, the ballot will be completely blank as no candidates filed for any of the positions.
There is one declared write-in candidate for the position of Mayor and that is McKenzie A. Graye.
For the alderman position in Ward 1, Rodney J. Christiaens has filed as a declared write-in candidate. Another individual also filed as a declared write-in candidate; however, he did not meet the residency requirements to represent Ward 1.
There are neither candidate filings nor declared write-in candidates in Ward 2 in Valier
Applying the laws to counting votes in the Valier election, votes for Graye will count for mayor and no votes for undeclared write-ins can be counted. In Ward 1, votes for Christiaens will count but no undeclared write-in votes will count.
In Ward 2 of Valier, no one filed either as a candidate or as a declared write-in candidate.
Unless a person files as a declared write-in by the Oct. 8 deadline, all undeclared write-in votes will be counted.