Christine Pitawanich / NCC News
4/21/2010
Syracuse, NY – Finding a clock maker or a clock repair shop can be pretty tough these days. As people have moved towards digital timekeeping, horologists, experts who build or repair clocks, have slowly begun to vanish. But Central New York is home to two men who still pursue a craft that’s steeped in tradition.
In Madison, New York, Chris Harter makes 18th century-style clocks and furniture, while in Syracuse, Karl Kascha fixes and sells clocks at his shop. In this digital era, their passion for hand-made clocks is something of a rarity among a generation which relies almost solely on digital time-keeping devices.
A Hidden Gem in Syracuse
From the outside, Karl’s Klocks doesn’t look any different from all the other homes and buildings lining the street. There’s no big sign, no big parking lot, and no big fancy storefront. But despite all that, a steady stream of customers manage to find Karl’s shop in hopes that he will work some magic on their beloved, but broken clocks.
“I’m a sentimental fool as well as a lot of my customers,” said Karl as he repaired an old cuckoo clock. “It’s a good thing there’s a few of us out there or I would be out of business.”
Shared Sentiment
One of Karl’s customers, Teri Brush also values the sentimental aspect of clocks. To her, clocks play a more important role than keeping time.
“[That] clock is over 150 years old,” began Brush as she motioned towards the clock Karl was inspecting. “It was in my family, it was my grandfathers. It’s been handed down; it’s tradition,” she said.
And tradition is what Chris Harter loves about making clocks in his Madison workshop.
“250 years from now these pieces should still be around,” said Chris. “Children are going to take [the clocks] with them and that’s where you see generation after generation have these pieces,” he finished.
Quality, Not Quantity
According to Chris, it’s the quality of a hand-made clock that sets it apart from others.
“Every aspect is being done by one person [and] there is a high degree of quality,” said Chris. “My greatest motivation is just that passion of what I love to do and doing it with excellence...I’m glad I’m not making furniture item 4412 with finish a, b, or c.”
And excellence is exactly what both Chris and Karl strive for as they make and repair clocks that could potentially keep ticking for hundreds of years to come.
