by Ruth Clagan, from the Clock Shop Mysteries by Julianne Holmes

Have you ever thought about what it takes to keep a clock tower running? For some folks, too many in my opinion, it only requires keeping the electricity going, and having a clock maker come up every so often to tune it up if necessary. But for clock towers that require winding? It means that once a week someone climbs up into the tower and winds the clock. Say you need 50 revolutions to keep it going a day. That means you need to do 350 revolutions to keep it going for a week. Clock weights can add or subtract the number of revolutions, but still. Once a week someone has to go up and wind the clock.
Here in New England, the climb into the tower is seldom perfect weather wise. This week we had our 24 hours of spring. 65 degrees one day, 85 degrees the next. Hot gets redefined in a clock tower with no ventilation. Cold does too. But weather doesn't stop the need for the clock to keep running. The community depends on it.
I don't mind our winding jobs. I'd rather keep doing them then lose another clock to electricity. I'm extra excited about the Orchard clock tower. We should have it ready to be set and wound very soon. Of course Nadia has a whole social media plan around that. You can read all about it in Chime and Punishment this summer.
In the meantime, never take a clock tower for granted. Think about the 350 revolutions, and be grateful someone loves that clock as much as I love mine.

Julianne Holmes writes the Clock Shop Mystery series. @JHAuthors