FALLING BACK: TIME CHANGE, OUTAGES AFFECT DOWNTOWN CLOCK

The responsibility for setting Cape Girardeau's downtown clock has fallen to Charlie Hutson for the past decade.

So either late tonight or early Sunday morning, he will stand at the intersection of Themis and Main streets, stopping time for an hour.

Hutson's duties began in May 1986. As owner of Hutson Furniture Co., he gathered with other downtown merchants to redevelop the neighborhood. Part of the effort was the $25,000 electric street clock. Matching benches and light fixtures followed.

Hutson said he was fond of the clock from the start -- it reminded him of one at the corner of Broadway and Fountain Street in the 1950s. Since he was president of the Downtown Redevelopment Corp., he got the key to the clock's inner workings.

The presidency hasn't changed hands in 10 years, and neither has the clock key.

There are three basic reasons the clock has to be changed: daylight-saving time begins, daylight-saving time ends or the electricity goes out. When any of those things happen and Hutson forgets about the clock, plenty of people call to remind him.

Setting it is a fairly simple matter. There is a locked door near the base that can be opened, revealing a switch. The hands can be sped up until they hit the correct time. When the clock needs to be set back, it is easier to cut the power for an hour and then turn it back on.

The motor burned out four times in 10 years and was sent to New Jersey for repairs, which proved an irritation to some who passed the inaccurate clock day after day. Now Hutson keeps a spare motor.

Local folks' attachment is surprising, Hutson said, considering the amount of controversy that surrounded the clock's installation.

"People were hitting it with their cars," Hutson said. "Most of them were looking someplace else or had visited a tavern. When we put the four-way stop in there, it just about eliminated the problem."

There's a new controversy now. Boyd Gaming Co. is looking at Cape Girardeau for a riverboat casino, and some engineers say the clock impedes traffic.

"We might have to move it, but I've seen big 18-wheelers maneuver around it," Hutson said. "Maybe we need something to keep traffic in check."

In its current location, the clock has come to be associated with historic Cape Girardeau. Its picture graces tourist promotions, and visitors tend to stop and admire it as they wind their way through downtown streets.

And as long as they like it, Charlie Hutson is willing to keep the key.