The State News, Michigan State University
When time stops, Lansing resident and MSU alumnus Glenn Williams can get it up and running again.
After a grandfather clock made by his father-in-law stopped working, Williams picked up the techniques and skills from another clock repairman before branching off into his own business. He said he always was a tinkerer when it came to old cars and motorcycles, and had the tools and mechanical background to succeed in the repairman field.
“It just made sense,” he said. “It was a clean way to keep my fingers busy.”
But in a world of technology and digital clocks, Williams said there are very few people doing clock repairs anymore.
Aside from being a practical business investment, repairing clocks allows a historical tie for Williams, where the clocks typically have a historical significance to an event commemorating someone’s life.
Lansing resident Glenn Williams works on a clock in the basement of his home May 20, 2013. Williams started his business, Tenor Clock, in January 2013, after a grandfather clock built by his father-in-law was in need of repair.
Lansing resident Glenn Williams prepares to put a clock spring back together May 20, 2013. Williams, after tinkering with various other things, found the jump to fixing clocks a natural fit.