George Singleton tells of repairs to clock damaged in famous South Carolina earthquake

(For decades, local historian and paranormal investigator George “Buster” Singleton published a weekly newspaper column called “Somewhere in Time.” The column below, which was titled “Clock broken in 1878 is repaired in Monroe County” was originally published in the Jan. 18, 1973 edition of The Monroe Journal in Monroeville, Ala.)

Damage from famous Charleston earthquake.

Tommy Chandler of Peterman repairs and builds clocks. He has worked on many kinds since he started tinkering on them as a hobby some years back. But Tommy’s hobby has grown into a small business which is beginning to occupy more and more of his idle time.

I visited Tommy’s clock repair shop one afternoon recently. I had on old clock that I wanted repaired and he was recommended to me for the job. As I was looking over the various clocks and watches that he was repairing and building, I noticed this particular clock that was different from all the rest.

“There’s a good story behind that one,” Tommy said. I stated that I was always interested in a good story, and asked him to relate to me the information. I was told that the clock belonged to Wilbert “Pick” Pickens of Monroeville, so we decided then and there to contact “Pick” and get the first-hand information about the odd old timepiece.

“My mother-in-law gave me the clock,” stated “Pick.” “The clock was sitting on her family’s mantle in Charleston, S.C. when the city was hit by an earthquake. This happened around 1878. The quake was so severe that it shook the clock off the mantle, breaking it to pieces. Sometimes later the pieces were picked up and placed in a large fruit jar. Here the clock stayed for almost 100 years, during which the jar and its contents, found its way south to Monroe County.”

When “Pick” decided to try and get the clock repaired, he contacted Tommy about the job. Over the years, some of the pieces had been removed from the jar and lost. These pieces had to be remade. New weights had to be molded from lead. This was not an easy task because no one knew the size and shape of the weights. Tommy secured the help of Bartow Lloyd of Mexia, who also makes clocks. Between the two, they melted and shaped the correct size weights that would make the clock run.

Many hours have been spent in putting together this unique clock. Only a person with an unlimited amount of patience would tackle such a task. Tommy Chandler has the patience and skill to accomplish this.

As I stated before, this clock is not an ordinary one. With the exception of one gear and the lead weights, the complete works are made out of wood. So everything had to be whittled to precision, as one might say.

[This story also included a photo taken by Singleton that carried the following caption: Wilbert Pickens and Tommy Chandler are shown with an old clock which was broken into many pieces during an earthquake in 1878. The clock was given to Pickens, and Chandler restored it for him. Some new pieces even had to be made as some were lost before it was given to Pickens.]

(Singleton, the author of the 1991 book “Of Foxfire and Phantom Soldiers,” passed away at the age of 79 on July 19, 2007. A longtime resident of Monroeville, he was born to Vincent William Singleton and Frances Cornelia Faile Singleton, during a late-night thunderstorm, on Dec. 14, 1927 in Marengo County, graduated from Sweet Water High School in 1946, served as a U.S. Marine paratrooper in the Korean War, worked as a riverboat deckhand, lived for a time among Apache Indians, moved to Monroe County on June 28, 1964 and served as the administrator of the Monroeville National Guard unit from June 28, 1964 to Dec. 14, 1987. He was promoted from the enlisted ranks to warrant officer in May 1972. For years, Singleton’s columns, titled “Monroe County history – Did you know?” and “Somewhere in Time” appeared in The Monroe Journal, and he wrote a lengthy series of articles about Monroe County that appeared in Alabama Life magazine. It’s believed that his first column appeared in the March 25, 1971 edition of The Monroe Journal. He is buried in Pineville Cemetery in Monroeville. The column above and all of Singleton’s other columns are available to the public through the microfilm records at the Monroe County Public Library in Monroeville. Singleton’s columns are presented here each week for research and scholarship purposes and as part of an effort to keep his work and memory alive.)