The Clock Arrives in 1906
In the early 1900’s, members of the High School Alumni Association began a campaign to purchase a town clock to complement the bell. This campaign was fully embraced by the Cranbury Press and highly documented. In an article on June 9, 1905, the Cranbury Press describes a fund-raising supper to be “served in Odd Fellows Hall at 5 o’clock July Fourth”. The goal of this event:
An effort will be made to procure the funds for the purchase of a system of clocks which will give uniform time in the various departments of the school building and at the same time furnish a clock for the town.
A reliable New Jersey clock firm guarantees a clock that will keep time within one minute per month. The cost of this will not be less than $250.
In a June 30, 1905 article, the Cranbury Press made it clear that the new clock would be connected to the bell and would strike at the hour:
The question has been repeatedly asked whether the town clock which the Alumni Association are endeavoring to secure will strike, and they desire to state that it will. The cost will be a little more for a clock that strikes but it will be well worth it and of more value to the town people.
In a July 7, 1905 article, the Cranbury Press reported that the fund-raising event was “a successful affair and netted about $150 toward the new town clock”. The newspaper also heaped a bit of praise on itself, saying:
Through the columns of the Press last week many learned that the proposed clock would strike and they decided to help raise the needed money by patronizing the festival.
However, when 1906 began the Alumni Association was still short on the money needed for the clock. A second fund-raiser was planned and was advertised in the Cranbury Press on January 19, 1906:
The prospect for a very enjoyable evening next Wednesday is good. The object for which it is given is also good. We have started the project, let us do all we can to finish it. Let us have a Town Clock. The High School Alumni Association and others are willing to do the work. Give them the support of your presence and have a share in providing what we will al like to have – a good town clock.
E. Howard Model 0 Clock
with original green and gold paint
A few months later, members of the Cranbury High School Alumni Association (with the guidance of the principal, Miss Mary Janvier), purchased an E. Howard clock and a wooden clock face for the school. On May 3, 1906, the clock became operational. As stated in a May 4, 1906 article in the Cranbury Press:
At seven o'clock yesterday morning, the hour of beginning work for the day, the Cranbury town clock began its work of telling the inhabitants of the passing of the hours.
The clock was described as an “eight day clock”, meaning that it was designed to run for 8 days without needing to be re-wound. It was guaranteed to run for 5 years but the manufacturer expected it to last a century. It was also capable of powering multiple clock faces, allowing it to drive clocks located in other rooms of the school. The clock also included a chiming mechanism that caused a hammer in the belfry to strike the bell the appropriate amount of times at the top of each hour.
