In which Mr. Answer Person goes to extreme heights to answer a question about the courthouse clock

The motor and gears of the courthouse clocks

A decorahnews.com reader got right to the point in a recent e-mail: "What's wrong with the clock in the Winneshiek County Courthouse?"

Mr. Answer Person found himself on a somewhat shaky steel ladder on Tuesday in an effort to get an answer.  That was after he walked up 60 steps in a staircase to get to the catwalk around the tower of the courthouse, making sure to duck his head and watch his steps.

Decorah resident Mark Burgdorf, a man of many talents, found himself in charge of maintenance of the courthouse clock after complaining to county supervisors a number of years ago when the clock stopped working.  The supervisors turned around and hired Burgdorf to take a look at the clock--and he's been at it ever since.

A motor turns several long rods that drive gears on the faces of the four clocks--one on each side of the building.  Burgdorf spent time on Tuesday looking at all the equipment and will return soon to attempt to fix it. 

So for now, the courthouse clock is only accurate twice a day (old joke!), but soon Bergdorf will have it running again.  In the meantime, enjoy Mr. Answer Person's pictures of the inner workings of the courthouse clocks.

Looking from behind the face of the clock

Looking out to the catwalk around the courthouse tower

In order to get to the clock mechanism, you have to go above the third floor stained glass ceiling