Clock of the Nations

When it was Christmas time in the 60's and 70's, one of my favorite parts was the evening ride to Midtown Plaza in Rochester, NY. I could hardly wait to get there, and if it was cold enough to snow, it was even better! The underground parking garage was exciting, and so was shopping in a mall. The Christmas displays were impressive, and the Sibley's Tunnel always gave a thrill to children's hearts.

We never rode the monorail and rarely talked to Santa, but it was a breathtaking childhood holiday custom just the same. Between the Midtown fountain and my shock at the Abominable snowman in the newly released Rudolf the Red-nosed Reindeer special, I even managed to have nightmares. The Clock of the Nations never really caught my eye until much later, and by then it was almost too late.

When I was a little girl Mom would tell about the year she went to Midtown Plaza and was looking at the clock when a voice called out above the crowd. "Hi, Arlene!" She looked up and there was her cousin Tom fixing the Clock of the Nations, and they had a little conversation right there in the middle of the busy Midtown Plaza. According to his sister in law, who I saw yesterday at his memorial service, he was the only one back then who knew how to fix it. A photo was captioned "Clock of the Nations- Tom's pride and joy."

The Clock of the Nations was moved to the Greater Rochester Airport years ago and is now locked behind security door where most of us will rarely see it. I wonder how often Tom flew back here from his home in Florida and stopped to gaze at the Clock of the Nations and smile at his old friend...