Passion for clocks

Tom Crooks of Joseph is a logical thinker. Building, restoring and repairing clocks is an exercise in problem solving for this former engineer.

Tom’s shop near Joseph on the Imnaha Highway is filled with clocks in every stage of repair and disrepair, covering the walls, crowding the shelves. All sizes, shapes and vintages from clocks made in the 1700s to time-only clocks popular in the ’50s and brand new models in need of adjustment.

They tick, hum, chime or wait silently for the perfect modification to set the gears, arbors, bushings, pivots, pinions, weights and chiming rods back into motion.

Tom’s workshop is a little bit like one of the potluck gatherings that are so popular and successful in Wallowa County. Clocks belonging to people from every corner of the county are either repaired and ready to return or are in pieces on the workbench.

There is a clock found in the root cellar at Ray Hickman’s place in Joseph that was built before 1820, according to Tom.

“The works are entirely made from wood. They’re all there and in perfect condition. I have no idea how long it’s been in that cellar and the real mystery is, how did it get there?”

The wooden parts have been restored with wax and now wait to be put back together. The cabinet has been restored by Stauffer’s Refinishing of Enterprise. Before and after pictures reveal a painting barely visible on the glass front, which has been recreated after careful research. Missing legs and decorative furbishings have been replaced and the clock, now a valuable collector’s item, is almost completely restored.

The brass works of a clock belonging to Don Green of Joseph hang bare and exposed as Tom makes minute adjustments to synchronize the gear trains.

“Time-only clocks have one gear train. Clocks that also strike and chime have three gear trains. These clocks are like a wedding cake. You have to get each layer just right. I don’t let them go unless I’m absolutely sure it’ll work. If someone wants a clock in a rush, I won’t do it,” he said.

Tom describes himself as an accumulator of clocks.

“I shop on eBay, at yard sales and estate sales. I restore them, enjoy them and pass them on. I do re-sell them, some I keep for a while,” he said.

There is more to Tom’s craft than simply repairing clocks that don’t work. A full bookshelf of historical reference, art history and antique books show his expertise and passion.

“I’ve always liked history. When I was 12, I was the youngest member of the New York Archaeological Society. But my dad encouraged me in other directions. He said there weren’t too many jobs in that area so I became an engineer.”

Tom thinks that clock repair and restoration uses many of the same skills as engineering —  a logical approach to problems and a systematic method of problem solving. But in addition to those skills, he has an artist’s eye for design and a historian’s knowledge of the trends and styles of particular periods. By analyzing decorative motifs on the face, or the style of the hands, or some other characteristic that might be intact, he can determine the vintage of a clock that may have been abandoned as junk.

Tom Crooks shows off a "black clock" from his collection. Clocks of all types and models are in various states of repair on the work bench and on the walls of his workshop located on the Imnaha Highway near Joseph. - Photos by Ron Osterloh

At first the American version was made of cast iron, but by about 1882 they were made of black enameled wood. The styling on the faces, the hands — sometimes made of pewter — and the decorative columns make each one unique. Variation in size and shape add to the character of the clocks and it is extremely difficult to choose a favorite among the many in Tom’s collection.

Remnants of wrecked coo-coo clocks from the 1860s cover another wall of the workshop. Most of them originated in the Black Forest in Germany where a thriving cottage industry produced the clocks during  the cold winter seasons and sold them as a supplementary income. Tom reconstructs the intricate workings and restores the cabinets.

“These are a real challenge to put back together,” he said.

He has worked on 25 to 30 clocks this winter including a Japanese Seiko clock and Mission Arts and Crafts style wall and table clocks.

Tom Crooks compares the pewter hands from a clock he is restoring with those in a reference manual to help determine the vintage and model of the clock.

“It was all hands-on training and the engineering background helps, I think,” he said.

Crooks’ Clocks is a full- service business. Tom offers cleaning and adjusting as well as restoration and renovation. He can build custom clocks and fabricate damaged parts.

“The National Watch and Clock Association can make replacement parts and I can order them. Most of the time, I don’t. If it’s fairly simple I can make it. Exterior strike controls or gears, I have to order,” Tom said.

Some customers want to know how much it will cost to fix a clock before they make a commitment for repairs and Tom will give free estimates. He is also able to appraise clocks for sales or insurance purposes.

“If the clock is not worth what it will cost to fix, I tell them that. Most people say, ‘I don’t care. I grew up with this clock. I love it. I want it fixed.’ So I fix it.”

Tom has lived and worked in all the states in the Pacific Northwest and many others across the nation, but Wallowa County is the best place, no contest, he said.

It is craftsmen like Tom, with a unique combination of skills and artistry, who help to make this a special place.