Clock shop opens with repairs, sales

Matt Walden, left, and John Ryan, celebrate the opening of their new business, Marion County Clocks, with a ribbon cutting ceremony at 4 p.m. today, March 26, at 115 S. Fourth St. Contributed photo

MARY LOU MONTGOMERY

John Ryan started on-the-job clock repair training when he was just 15. Matt Walden began his apprenticeship in the clock repair field after a 23-year career with the U.S. Air Force.

At 10 a.m. today, Wednesday, Marcy 26, as partners, they are opening the door to their new business, Marion County Clocks, at 115 S. Fourth Street in Hannibal. A ribbon cutting ceremony, conducted by the Hannibal Area Chamber of Commerce, will be at 4 p.m.

“We’re going to do clock sales, service and repair, and in-home service calls for large grandfather and floor clocks,” Ryan said.

The inspiration for the new business came in October 2024, when the Ralls County Clock Company announced it was closing. Both Ryan and Walden worked in clock repair for Nancy Miller, who took over operation of the business in 2017, following the death of her husband, Dave Miller.

Ryan and Walden started their careers under Dave Miller’s tutelage.

“I started with Ralls County when I was 15,” John Ryan, who is now 23, said. “Dave Miller saw me come into the store, and I told him I like to mess with old clocks.” At the time, Ryan was working on an old cuckoo clock. “He told me to bring it in, and when I did, he asked if I wanted a job. I worked a few days a week after school, and grew into working more hours, in and out of college. “I worked when I could,” he said.

“Dave was a pretty big inspiration,” Ryan said. “He got me hooked on clocks. He was a character; a good wheeler and dealer and a heck of a salesman, a real good boss all around,” Ryan said.

“Dave came to my 16th birthday party at the American Legion. He was all excited about me getting my driver’s license. Not a week later, he passed away,” Ryan said.

After Miller’s death, Ryan earned a diploma in clock repair from Gem City College in Quincy, Ill., and went to work for Mrs. Miller.

What really intrigues Ryan about clocks is, “more the mechanical aspect, something about the gears and mainsprings, draw me to them. Clocks are a challenge to work on, a mind puzzle, trying to get them going and back together.

“Dave Miller’s original thought was to have someone carry on the tradition,” of clock repairs. “We’re carrying it on in his spirit; to keep fixing the clocks and keep them running. He taught me a lot of tricks of the trade, and we’re going to keep it going.”

Walden’s path

Matt Walden followed a different path into the clock repair field.

After spending 23 years in the Air Force, “I answered an ad in the Courier-Post. Dave was looking for someone with a mechanical background who didn’t mind dirty hands, and who was willing to learn a new trade.

“Dave said ‘I will teach you.’ I trained on the mechanical side, starting with batteries, then progressed on to movements, where you could actually diagnose, tear apart and put back together. It’s not strenuous, it’s at your own pace.”

Dave sent him to the Howard Miller Clock school in Michigan, which was 3-4 days long.

Training included unpacking a new clock, getting it set up in the home, plus watching the clocks being built in the factory.

He learned about tearing movements apart and putting them back together. 

“That was a valuable early piece of training,” Walden said. One thing with clocks, you never know what you’re up against. Parts may not be available, so you have to come up with a part or make something work. You make it happen, it is a brain challenge. How will you get it working again? The final goal is getting it running.

“I started with Dave Miller in 2008. It was exciting to learn something a little different. I had no interest in clocks until I started working with him,” Walden said.

“I spent about seven years with the company; then I ended up moving to South Carolina.”

When he moved back to Hannibal, he went right back to work.

“John and I worked together the last three and a half years; we spent a lot of time on the road doing in-home servicing. We were talking about doing this ourselves sometime. 

“When Nancy mentioned she was wanting to shut the store down …

“Dave always wanted someone to carry on the business; we took it to heart. This is something we can definitely do.”

He offers an example of customer needs. One out-of-town customer has a collection of tallcase grandfather clocks. “I’ve worked on 14 in his house, all built in the 1830s and 1840s. For us, to keep them going is a challenge. The craftsmanship and keeping them running is our purpose to keep moving forward.”

New store

“We started making plans, Walden said. “It is a niche trade. A lot of businesses … they’re all necessary. But we’re the only game in town, in a lot of directions, for a lot of miles.

“We’re finding out there is just nobody else doing the job. The sky is the limit as far as keeping it going.

“We are excited about our location,” he said. “It is a perfect location, the perfect size, describing space rented from Greg Wright. “We just need to get the door unlocked so people can come in with their sick clocks.”