Lambda Chapter
June 4, 2024 – WELCOME HOME!
Today the Lambda Chapter Grandfather Clock returned to the Chapter House. Absent since 1996, the clock is fully restored and looks amazing. Please take a moment at the Miller Barbeque this weekend to visit the clock and snap a picture. Send it to Brian – bleitten@gmail.com – and we will feature it here.
Again, many thanks to Bob Baldwin L’73 for keeping this Lambda icon safe over the years and for making the restoration happen, and thanks to Bob Miller L’68 for assisting with the installation. Our master clock restorer is on vacation this week and will be at the House in the coming weeks to finalize the operation of the clock mechanism and film a tutorial on operation and maintenance of the clock.
Finally, restoring the clock would not have been possible without the financial support of the following Brothers and spouses, who have contributed $2,400 to the restoration fund:
Bob Baldwin L’73
Tom (L’67) and Lynn Conroy
Angelo Corridori L’66
Dan Hildebrand L’08
Brian (L’68) and Lynn Leitten
Roger Mike L’67
Ron Ricci L’62
Gregg Schubach L’83
Phil Tatro L’82
May 29, 2024 – Update – The last piece of the restoration puzzle, the Moon Wheel, the piece that goes behind the upper, semi-circular portion of the clock face and rotates with the phases of the moon, has been restored and looks spectacular! The restorers even added some age marks and patina to align the wheel with the overall look of the restored clock.
We are now ready to install the clock in the Chapter House. Bob Baldwin and Bob Miller will be supervising the installation of the clock case next Monday or Tuesday. We will be posting video of the installation on this webpage.
So far, we have raised $2,350 for the Clock fund. Check here for further updates.
Brother Baldwin has guarded the clock for 28 years.
Alumni from the 8 Sherry Road era or before will remember the Lambda Chapter grandfather clock. It stood in the entrance way at 8 Sherry Road and greeted everyone who entered the House. Dedicated in 1904 to Brother Robert Ker McMillan L’00, who passed away in 1903, the clock was disassembled in 1996 and has been stored with Bob Baldwin L’73 for the past 28 years.
Its absence at the grand opening of the new Chapter House was noticed, so last year, Bob, with some research help from Brian Leitten L’68, decided to find out if the clock could be properly restored and reinstalled at the new Chapter House. A master grandfather clock technician was located in Schenectady and agreed to work with us. We learned that we have a Seth Thomas mechanism that is indicative of a clock built around 1900. The process of bringing the clock back to life [the mechanism was heavily corroded and not working and the wood casing was in bad shape] began last year.
The 1st step was to have the mechanism soaked in an ultrasonic bath for several weeks to determine if it could be returned to working condition. It has now been completely cleaned, refurbished and tested and keeps time perfectly. The weight cables have been replaced and all the wood has been cleaned and conditioned. Wood stain has been applied to all scratches and scuff marks. The wooden frames of the doors and the floor of the cabinet have been repaired. The moon dial is being restored. New locks and escutcheons have been installed and the final work is being completed.
Brother Baldwin found that the clock was so tall he had to preassemble it between the floor joists in his basement.
The clock is not being returned to a pristine, like-new condition but to the professionally restored, grand condition that it was in when we were in the House [this means you can still see a couple of ring marks on the cabinet ledge where you or one of your brothers left a beer cup during a band party]. It will be ready to be brought back to the new Chapter House at the end of May. The undergrads are selecting a fitting location to display this historic Lambda icon. Our master technician will provide us with a tutorial on operating and maintaining the clock, which Bob will document and train the undergrads on.
We are excited to see this century old icon of Lambda Chapter come back to life and to its rightful place of prominence in the new Chapter House.
Brother Robert Ker McMillan L’00
The grandfather clock was dedicated in 1904 to the memory of Brother Robert Ker McMillan, L’00. Brother McMillan studied electrical engineering at Rensselaer and, according to notes in Lambda chapter journals from the day, returned to his hometown of Detroit, Michigan in the Spring of 1902 with serious health issues. He passed away on April 14, 1903, at age 24, from heart failure. After returning home, he helped run the family wholesale and retail grocery business. Brother McMillan was initiated into Delta Phi in December 1900.
