Rotary takes time to fix welcome arch clocks

It’s time to fix the clocks at the downtown Rotary arch. The 15-year-old timepiece started acting up in the first half of the year and was falling behind tracking the hours. Rodger Rosset, a long-time Rotary Club of Sault Ste. Marie member who helped with the arch’s reinstallation in 2011, was tapped to make time [...]

Article content It’s time to fix the clocks at the downtown Rotary arch. The 15-year-old timepiece started acting up in the first half of the year and was falling behind tracking the hours. Recommended Videos Rodger Rosset, a long-time Rotary Club of Sault Ste.

Marie member who helped with the arch’s reinstallation in 2011, was tapped to make time to check the clocks. He found the south-facing clock was “working somewhat” while the clock facing Bay Street “wasn’t working at all,” said Rosset. “It was time for servicing,” he said.

The clocks were taken down in late June and shipped to the manufacturer in Michigan for a jolt of oil and cleaning. Rosset expects the clocks to return in about three weeks. The service club and City of Sault Ste.

Marie are covering the estimated $3,000 repair and taking out and putting back up costs. The clocks are electrically powered and reset to cover time changes and power failures. “It had to stand up to the elements,” said Rosset, who is now retired after about 30 years owning Savoy’s Jewellers.

The Rotary Welcome arch welcomed visitors who rode the ferry to the city before the International Bridge The arch went up on what was then Ferry Street in 1937 and taken down following the bridge’s opening in 1962. Two sandstone cairns continued to stand on either side of the street for nearly 50 years until the Rotary club partnered with Essar Steel Algoma.

The steelmaker donated steel and workers for the replica arch’s fabrication and installation. “That’s part of our heritage,” said Rosset. “It was very important for Rotary to reinstall that arch.”

The Rotary Welcome Cairns were designated a heritage site in 2005. On X: @Saultreporter