News Release

Hernando: Take a step back in time at Celebration of Art – and fix the clock, too
 

Hernando, Apr 30, 2003 - HERNANDO — The courthouse Square gives the impression that time seems to stand still, but some residents say it’s time to fix the clock on the Square.
Proceeds from Saturday’s Celebration of Art will go toward fixing the clock, one of the Square’s most identifiable landmarks, as well as other beautification projects.
“(The clock) looks nice, but we’ve just had people comment that the clock doesn’t work and needs to be fixed,” said Kathy Chatham with the Hernando Woman’s Club, which is staging A Celebration of Art.
Organizers want tourists and visitors to feel like they are taking a trip back in time as they step into horse-drawn carriages to ferry them to and from venues around the Square, but they also want to send the message that Hernando is still very much up-to-date.
That’s why fixing the clock has become a mission.
“This is going to be our first project,” said Chatham, adding that proceeds on Saturday will also go towards brick pavers around the square.
A silent auction will raise funds for the Historic DeSoto Foundation.
New wrought-iron garbage receptacles will also be installed in time for the Celebration of Art in ongoing efforts to help spruce up the Square.
The clock, which stands squarely in the middle of Commerce Street, has stood frozen in time for nearly half a decade, Chatham said. The decorative antique wrought-iron timepiece was purchased years ago for the city by Keith Farrell, owner of Farrell Companies. It worked for about two years and then stopped completely.
“It’s been inoperable for a number of years,” said Brian Goff, executive director of the Hernando Main Street/Chamber of Commerce.
“From time to time we get questions from people wondering why it doesn’t work,” Goff said of tourists who wander in and say, ‘Gee, your clock doesn’t work.’ ”
“It’s a battery-operated clock from what I understand,” Goff said. New batteries were installed, only to have the clock work for about two weeks.
Jennifer Digby, the former manager of the Hernando Chamber, said the clock remains one of the more significant landmarks on the Square.
“It’s the best marker in town,” she said. “When people call and ask how to get to our office, I say turn left at the clock in the middle of the street. They say ‘You have a clock in the middle of the street?’ I tell them they can’t miss it.”
Digby did say that the non-functioning clock was a constant source of frustration.
“I really do wish it would work. I was disappointed when it wouldn’t,” she said. “I think it’s a great way to mark the triangle that we have in the Square.”
Tickets to the Celebration of Art, which begins at 5 p.m. with an art display featuring artwork from the Artist Network of North Mississippi, are $60 each and may be purchased from any Hernando Woman’s Club member or the Hernando Chamber of Commerce by calling 429-6397. Major sponsors of the event are Reeves Williams homebuilders, the Maddox Foundation and the DeSoto Times.
A silent auction conducted by the Historic DeSoto Foundation will be held inside the DeSoto County Courthouse. The Rene Koopman Jazz Combo from Memphis will entertain in the Jim Seay Courtyard behind the Maddox Foundation. Timbeaux’s on the Square is catering the event.

ROBERT LEE LONG/Community Editor