A Bit More About Keney Tower
Newspaper Stories from the Tower's Early Days
Vandalism by Lawless Boys and Girls
When I posted a recent video on YouTube about the Keney Memorial Clock Tower, a few people recalled that the Tower grounds were once restricted to mothers and young children. The reasons for this might relate to the issues raised in an article that appeared in the Hartford Courant on October 6, 1914, under the headline, “Vandalism By Young America” with the subheading, “Lawless Boys and Girls Around Keney Tower.” The story references the Good Will Club, an organization founded by Mary Hall that had a building adjacent to the Tower:
The complaints about the way lawless children make mischief around the Keney tower are plenty these days. Until lately, for some time, the little park around the tower has been without the watchman or keeper formerly on duty there, and, as a result, boys and girls have torn the young trees to pieces and made havoc with things generally, in some cases starting fires that might have spread dangerously. During the school vacation ballplayers have taken possession of the space in the old Ely place for their game and have knocked plate glass windows out of the Good Will building. When forbidden to carry on their destructive sport, they have laughed at those rebuking them. They say that, if arrested they will get nothing worse than the parole officer and then they laughed some more. Miss Mary Hall, friendly to boys, if anybody in Hartford is, has had to complain to the police and yesterday three boys, who had been destroying trees and threatening Good Will property, were taken to court. They were released for trial this morning.
Setting Up the Keney Tower Clock and Chimes
I mentioned in my video that UConn engineering students repaired the clock and its chimes to working order in 2019. The Courant covered their original back in 1898-9. According to a story from November 26, 1898:
Workmen employed by the Seth Thomas Clock Company, who have been engaged the past two weeks in building the beautiful clock in the Keney memorial tower, placed it in position yesterday and turned on the time. This will be a great convenience. In about two weeks music will be added, as the tube chimes will then be in position in the belfry. Then the clock will give out melody in chimes which will please the ear and call attention to time’s flight every quarter of an hour during the day and night.
As it turned out, it took much longer than two weeks for the clock to be fully operational. As the Courant reported on March 2, 1899: