Clock tower 100th birthday celebration

ANDOVER — A 100th birthday celebration for the town hall's clock tower takes place from 1 to 3 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 15.

The birthday party is being held at almost the exact time that the tower's clock began ticking Nov. 15, 1909.

Elissa Thibodeau, chairwoman of the Town Hall Restoration Committee, said Sunday's focus is on the clock.

"People are expected to come from several local historical societies as well as from northern Maine," she said.

The Andover Town Hall, which has been undergoing a major restoration in recent years, was built about 50 years prior to the installation of the clock tower.

Thibodeau said the birthday party will give people a chance to view a video of the stairs leading to the tower and the actual  tower. She said while the stairs are safe, they aren't appropriate for the large numbers of people expected to turn out.

Her husband, Brad, and the building's custodian and official bell-ringer, Peg Madigan, will lead the virtual video tour in the gathering room.

The clock, one of the few remaining of its type, was built by the Howard Company of Boston, at a cost of about $600.

Along with a birthday cake and snacks, many visitors are expected to speak of their memories concerning the clock or the bell.

The restoration of the clock tower was completed by Steeplejacks of Biddeford. Virtually all the restorative work at the town hall has been by volunteers.

The restoration committee is waiting to learn whether the town hall will be placed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Thibodeau said Maine Historic Preservation's Christy Mitchell reviewed the building in September. No word has yet been received, although Thibodeau said the hall may become a part of a historic district that would also include the Congregational Church, town common gazebo, and Andover Historical Society building.

eadams@sunjournal.com