Restored Monongahela library clock ticking again

It took a complex effort to get it working again after five years.

After years of stillness above Main Street, Monongahela Area Library’s clock tower is ticking and shining brighter than ever.

This lift was used in the clock repair project at Monongahela Area Library. Courtesy of Dustin Brown of Stalwart Technologies LLC.

What looks simple from the street took determination, teamwork and generosity that Library Director Amanda Gabeletto says still amazes her.

“We’ve had a really great response,” she said. “Not just that it is working and keeping time again, but the LED lights and the colorful ways we can light the face. We’ll be doing that for holidays and special occasions. We plan to have fun with it.”

The clock stopped about five years ago. An anonymous donor bought the parts needed to fix it, but finding someone willing to take on the job became the biggest barrier.

“It was so difficult to get inside the tower,” Gabeletto said. “You need scaffolding and ladders, and someone has to be outside and high up on both sides to get the mechanics switched over. We could not find anyone for the longest time who would or could do the work.”

The turning point came when Library Board President Sarah J. O’Brien kept working to line up people who could handle each piece of the project.

EquipmentShare donated its time and expensive equipment.

Jimmy Pelissero gave time, energy and money.

Skilled laborer John Bowen committed his own time and effort to the hands-on work.

Then came the final piece: Dustin Brown of Stalwart Technologies LLC.

“I call him the clock wizard,” Gabeletto said. “He came in with a community member, he was a problem solver and he took it head on. It was raining and snowing and he was up there cruising through it.”

Once the work was underway, Gabeletto started to grasp the true scale of the project.

“I figured it out, I think it would have been $15,000 to $20,000 in the end,” she said. “Those lifts they needed were thousands of dollars on their own to rent.”

Now that the tower is running again, Gabeletto’s hope is that residents feel a sense of pride every time they look up.

“I hope people are noticing and that it is the correct time all the time,” she said. “We’re able to have pride in place for it, and that board members stuck through it and got everyone lined up. The way it fell into place, we’re proud of it and proud it’s beautiful.”