Reisterstown's Clock Keepers

Reisterstown's Clock Keepers

Everyone in Reisterstown, Md., knows Big Ed. He’s worked on Main Street longer than anyone can remember—and if someone notices he’s not working, they call Jim or Jeff Eline, because the Eline family has taken care of Ed for more than a century.

“Big Ed” is the town clock. It came to Reisterstown (pop. 22,438) from the Howard Clock Co. of Boston, Mass. The great clock, with 1,500 pounds of counterweights, a 7-foot, 150-pound pendulum, and a 500-pound bell, was installed atop the town hall in 1887.

It acquired its nickname from Col. E. D. Selby, Jim Eline’s great-grandfather. A carpenter, cabinetmaker, and undertaker, Selby’s business was two doors away. He maintained the clock, winding it weekly and oiling it as needed.

His daughter married Joseph F. Eline, and the family funeral business passed through four generations to Jim and Jeff—and one of the traditions that was passed along with it was tending to Big Ed.

Jim Eline has wound the clock for more than 40 years, taught by his father, who was taught by his father, who was taught by his father. Now Jim’s son, Jeff, who joined the family business 10 years ago, also winds the clock.

“My father would take me up there just like I did with Jeff, to teach him. It’s an eight-day clock, but we wind it every Friday,” Jim says.

For more than 80 years, the clock resided atop the town hall. Then, in 1967 when the building was slated for demolition, Big Ed had to find a new home.

The problem wasn’t how to move the massive timepiece, but where to put it. A building tall enough to handle the cables and weights was needed, and its four faces and wooden tower needed repair.

“When we went up there to take the clock apart,” Jim says, “it was about 10 minutes before the hour, and I asked my father ‘Could we just sit here and let it strike its last time?’ That’s what we did.”

When the building came down, Ed went into storage as Reisterstown citizens raised money—at bake sales, dinners, and from donations—for a new tower. New clock faces replaced the worn cedar and cypress, and a location was found on the Masonic Temple, a block away.

A year later, in February of 1968, Big Ed came out of hibernation. A crane lifted the new tower into place, and workers wrestled the clockworks into the attic. The Elines wound it, and Big Ed was back at work.

Despite its size and weight, the clock is a precision instrument and can be stopped cold by a little ice. “If we have a real bad ice storm, we get about 25 or 30 calls about why the clock’s not running,” Jim chuckles.

But while the community may call only when the clock stops, they appreciate Big Ed for keeping Reisterstown on time for 114 years.

The huge bell marks each hour and once called volunteers to the fire station. “It’s always been a part of the community,” says Susan Kessler, who lives a block away from Ed. “When we were out playing as kids, you always knew what time it was. It’s important to hang onto that history of Reisterstown,” she says.

Recently the clock appeared as the town symbol on banners lining Main Street. “It’s been kind of neat for people to realize and recognize that it’s important to the community,” Jeff says.

Sometime soon, Jeff’s 2-year-old son will see the clockworks for the first time.

“It may sound corny, but I can’t wait to take Aaron up. It’s just a coincidence—a real irony—but he’s fascinated with clocks,” he says, smiling.

Not surprising in a family that seems to have enough clock oil in its veins to keep Big Ed running for generations to come.

Susan C. Ingram is a newspaper reporter and writer living in Randallstown, Md.

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