Approximately 16 years ago, the antique schoolhouse clock that hangs outside the Meetinghouse stopped. Dan Anderson, husband of Kindergarten teacher Judy Anderson ’66 has an affinity for repairing clocks and put his hobby to good use for the community.
The clock originally hung in the old Quaker Meetinghouse on 20th Street on Gramercy Park. It found its way to its current home in the early 1970s when Friends Seminary sold the building to the Brotherhood Synagogue. The Seth Thomas clock was constructed in the early part of the 20th century. It is manufactured with an unusual heavy brass high torque movement, which is required to be wound approximately every week. Head of School Bo Lauder recalls the weekly ritual of winding the clock that was shared among faculty and staff, though was sadly forgotten in the bustle of daily school life.
As part of the multilayered effort to get it ticking again, Facilities Manager Beko Lecaj soldered the original winding key to its original form, but it was not enough. That’s when Dan Anderson stepped in and took it home, where he meticulously cleaned and restored it.
Not only are Bo and the School pleased, but Ted Bongiovanni, the new Executive Director of the New York Quarterly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends, is grateful for the generosity of our extended school community.