John B. McLemore, a profanely outspoken, sensible and troubled restorer of vintage clocks, emerged a nationwide determine in 2017 with the podcast “S-City.” As a horologist — a repairer of units that measure time — he restored intricate and uncommon items in a workshop at his household homestead in rural western Alabama.
However that was simply a part of the story.
Briefly order, “S-City” hit 40 million downloads, and has since surpassed 100 million, making it among the many most downloaded podcasts.
For individuals who missed this uncommon story, there might be no main spoilers right here. It’s sufficient to say that McLemore, and plenty of in his orbit, have been vaulted from obscurity to typically painful visibility.
(Tyler Goodson, a outstanding character within the podcast, was killed in a police shootout in December. Jeff Dodson, the mayor of Woodstock, the hamlet the place “S-City” takes place, mentioned he hasn’t acquired an replace on the police investigation of the capturing.)
Earlier than “S-City,” McLemore was identified to collectors of uncommon clocks, incomes fame as an unlikely genius who might diagnose mechanical bother and revive one-of-a-kind vintage timepieces.
A type of collectors, William R. Tatum, was near “John B.,” as pals known as him. Tatum — referred to solely as Invoice within the podcast — entrusted McLemore with lots of his prized clocks. An exhibition of 34 of these items, all restored by McLemore, runs by way of April 30 on the Nationwide Watch & Clock Museum in Columbia, Pa.
“It’s actually to showcase his uniqueness, his skills, his skills,” Tatum mentioned of the exhibition. “He might repair something. He might do something. He labored on my dishwasher, my washer and garments dryer, he labored on my truck, he labored on my automobile.” However these have been mere distractions. “Clocks have been what made him tick, no pun meant.”
Within the sequence “S-City” (its title is an abbreviation of McLemore’s derisive nickname for Woodstock), listeners hear the musings, longings and rantings of a person captivated by science, vexed by local weather change, chagrined by native social norms and annoyed at love.
“He was too good for that county in Alabama, and that’s what made him really feel remoted,” Tatum mentioned. “He was too good for many of these folks. He had no person to narrate to. He knew I used to be educated, and we grew to become pals.”
Tatum drove final fall from Alabama with two others who have been featured within the podcast, Cheryl Dodson and her husband, Jeff, Woodstock’s mayor, to see the present and recall their buddy’s quirky skills.
However you don’t must take heed to McLemore’s story to search out issues of curiosity elsewhere within the museum. A tour begins with the sound of iron gears clanking collectively in a room filled with muscular tower clock mechanisms. Lots of of clocks and watches hint the science and artistry of timekeeping.
On the day of Tatum’s go to, a gaggle of schoolchildren sat rapt for an indication of the Engle Monumental Clock, a Nineteenth-century contraption that resembles a cross between a citadel and a cathedral. Because the docent turned the minute hand, its arrival at varied factors on the dial set off whirring processions of historic and allegorical characters, 46 in whole. When the minute hand reached 12, a thighbone-wielding skeleton, representing dying, struck a cranium to rely the hour — a vivid reminder that all of us have one much less hour to stay.
On View: 5 Marvels Revived by John B. McLemore
A devoted collector, Tatum discovered many uncommon clocks needing restore. These are a few of his favourite John B. tales.
Lighthouse Mantel Clock | French, ca. 1880
A simulated lantern atop this lighthouse-style clock oscillates between inexperienced, clear and pink glass. The case has a vibrant, two-tone gilt end. “When he handed the clocks again to me, they appeared like they only got here from the manufacturing facility,” Tatum mentioned.
The pre-McLemore lighthouse was lacking its crowning element. “He made that little flag, and he mentioned he made that when he was stoned,” Tatum recalled. However, Tatum added, “he hand-filed it and no matter frame of mind he was in, he made it appropriate. He all the time made it appropriate.”
Paris Fountain Clock and Barometer | French, ca. 1890
This miniature likeness of stately fountains that supplied consuming water to Nineteenth-century Parisians was bought by Tatum “as is”: a monochrome brass, its unique end gone.
McLemore added flourish to its 4 feminine figures, a darkish patina to make them stand out. “If it was all simply gold-plated, it wouldn’t have any character,” Tatum mentioned, noting that McLemore would conduct intensive analysis earlier than making aesthetic decisions.
The clock includes a spinning rod of twisted glass that mimics flowing water, through a second mechanism. Clocks with animated options have been difficult to restore however emerged from the McLemore workshop alive once more. “He wouldn’t have given it again to me if he couldn’t make it work,” Tatum mentioned.
Floating Turtle Clock | French, ca. 1900
This outstanding desk clock declares the hour through a floating turtle in a pewter bowl: Fill it with water, drop within the turtle and, presto, the animal glides to one of many numerals across the pan’s rim. “He’s going to drift to no matter time it’s,” Tatum mentioned. “It by no means disappoints you.”
The turtle is pulled to the right time by a magnet hidden beneath the bowl.
“Once I purchased that clock, it didn’t have the precise turtle,” he mentioned. “It was too heavy to drift.” One other buddy carved a lighter specimen. The of entirety: “John B. took a magnet off his fridge and inserted that into the turtle.”
A uncommon misstep additionally left its mark. After McLemore mounted the clock, he examined a brand new, lighter turtle. “We didn’t know there was a leak within the backside of the pan,” Tatum recalled. “He crammed it up, went to mattress, and got here again to the store and there was water on the motion,” Tatum defined, referring to the clockwork mechanism. “Wasn’t anticipating that! Components of it are a little bit rusted due to that escapade.”
McLemore patched the opening and satisfied his buyer to stay with the rust. “He was of the mind-set that if one thing’s not damaged, it’s higher to go away it alone,” Tatum mentioned.
Sedan Chair Carriage Clock | French, ca. 1900
One of many podcast’s mysteries: Did McLemore’s use of mercury poison him?
He favored bygone methods, notably fireplace gilding, by which gold and mercury are mixed; the combo is torched to vaporize the mercury, leaving solely a gold end. McLemore scarcely protected himself from the following fumes.
For many of Tatum’s clocks, McLemore used electroplating, a course of involving harmful supplies. Metallic is refinished in an answer that’s half poisonous potassium cyanide. This technique might not produce fumes, however the vats used would comprise extraordinarily hazardous chemical substances.
A number of such brews have been required to refinish this fanciful miniature sedan chair. It was a uniform brass tone when Tatum purchased it, and he calls its restoration “the crowning jewel of John B.’s work.”
McLemore spent weeks masking off parts of the clock’s motifs by making use of a lacquer seal. When plated within the cyanide combination, the uncovered, unlacquered sections acquired their meant end. Then the lacquer is eliminated, utilized to totally different sections and positioned in a brand new cyanide combination; the method is repeated a number of instances till all of the finishes are utilized.
The replated particulars glimmer in pure and tinted golds and silvers, the results of tedious work. Upon ending the clock, McLemore mentioned: “Tatum, I’ll by no means try this once more.”
Musical Singing Birdcage Automaton | French, ca. 1880
This Victorian novelty exists strictly to entertain. Wind it up and three feathered birds spring to life whereas music performs for about 10 minutes. Tatum purchased it “useless within the water,” its complicated workings frozen. He knew that McLemore had tackled initiatives like this earlier than.
After weeks of ready, Tatum acquired the anticipated name from his buddy, who declared matter of factly: “I bought it working. Take it house. Put a dome on it.”
It was a well-recognized assertion. “He would all the time say, ‘Ah, simply put a glass dome over it.’ That was his means of claiming, ‘I did my job.’”
