Local business organization helps fulfill one woman’s wish to give her home town a lasting legacy –
Story and photo by Patricia Beech –
Peebles has a new town clock.
Standing on the corner of Main and Vine Streets, the black 12′ Howard Replica pole clock has become the focal point of the town’s village green. The clock’s installation marks the culmination of a year-long fund raising effort by members of the Peebles Area Business Association (PABA).
Spearheaded by the organization’s Secretary, Sharon Malcom, PABA began winding up their clock drive in July 2015.
“It was Sharon’s dream and her vision to have this clock as a lasting legacy for the town” said PABA member, Sis McCoy.
McCoy said that after Malcom suffered a severe stroke in January 2016, the members of PABA were determined to make her vision a reality: “Sharon worked so hard to get this clock, we knew we had to finish the job for her and the town.”
The $13,000 two-face clock was built by the Verdin Company in Cincinnati, the oldest bell and clock makers in America.
PABA members donated $4,000 to the clock fund and the local community raised an additional $6,000 through individual contributions. A final contribution of $3,000 by the Hanson Aggregates Company topped off the drive and the clock was delivered to the town in early August. Local contractor Lonnie Ward donated time and materials to erect the clock, and Steve Ryan of Ryan’s Monuments donated a black granite plaque that will be affixed to the clock’s base.
Since the group’s formation in 1989, PABA members have worked to serve the interests of the Peebles community. In addition to sponsoring the annual Hometown Christmas celebration, they purchased the town’s live Christmas tree, the Nativity scene, and the holiday street decorations. They also provided the wooden barrels on Main Street that hold flowers through the spring and summer months.
PABA member Jack McCoy says the organization is a tool that brings businesses and community members together in common purpose.
“PABA provides a point of reference which allows businesses and community members to be supportive of civic activities in a joint way,” he said. “We’re always looking for ways to expand and be a benefit to the area.”
While the organization’s members soldier on they admit that Secretary Malcom’s absence has been a blow to the group, “Sharon was always at the hub of the organization,” said Jack McCoy. “She was always coordinating and communicating and networking with people who had an interest in the area she would engage with them, take the time to meet with them, and be supportive of their interests.”
The organization, which currently has 37 members, is working to increase their membership numbers.
“Membership isn’t limited to just Peebles proper, but includes the entire Peebles area,” explains McCoy. “We are trying to encourage and be supportive of businesses and individuals by providing a format where they can voice their concerns, or needs, or prospects.”
Anyone interested in joining PABA should contact the organization’s Treasurer, Larry Shaw at 123 North Main St. Peebles, or call 587-3507.