A local couple vacationing in New England earlier this month stumbled on a relic that reminded them of home.

Bob Guth of Tamaqua and wife Terry were spending time shopping in Bar Harbor, Maine, when they spotted a vintage, stained-glass clock that's nearly a duplicate of a rare one in his hometown."It's quite interesting that this is the same as ours," says Guth, adding, "We were souvenir shopping on their main street," when the couple made the discovery.The clock is a close match to a Tamaqua landmark, the restored First National Bank timepiece at what is now the Tamaqua Historical Society Museum.The O.B. McClintock Company clock is a two-sided bronze masterpiece standing 7 feet high. For decades it was a familiar icon on the main street of the Schuylkill County town.Manufactured in classical style by the Minneapolis clockmaker, it illuminated the 100 block of West Broad Street from 1911 to 1960 when the bank was acquired by Miners National Bank of Pottsville.The resulting name change prompted removal of the historic timepiece.At that point, Henry Breiner, assistant cashier at the bank and later Hometown branch manager, salvaged the clock by moving it to the Cherry Street garage behind his Hunter Street home. There it remained for decades, eventually forgotten.Lois Breiner, Tamaqua, said her father's hobby was restoring clocks and he had amassed a large collection by the time he died in 1980 at age 64.Breiner's mother, the former Mary Kase, passed away several years ago and Lois was then faced with dealing with the estate.The garage was to be sold and someone stepped forward and offered $800 for the timepiece.But Breiner already had made up her mind. She wanted to do something her father would have liked."Why not give it back," she said.Society trustee Jim Barron made arrangements to move the clock to the museum in July 2008, with the help of several volunteers.The society restored the clock for about $15,000, returning it to use.It was reinstalled in December 2012, using cranes from Bartush Sign Company in Orwigsburg.Among those lending a hand were the Borough of Tamaqua, which loaned a forklift, and volunteers Allen Breiner Jr., Gene Brode and Dave Lesniak.The unique clock not only counts the hour and half-hour with gongs, but plays Westminster chimes and can be programmed to play Christmas songs and a full range of music.Breiner was surprised to learn that a near-matching timepiece exists in Maine."It's amazing they vacationed at a place that has a similar clock," she said Thursday.The famous O.B. McClintock/Loomis Company built bank alarms and clocks used to operate chimes, along with ornate street clocks and interior chimes and clocks.The First National Bank of Bar Harbor was organized in 1888 by a group of notable business leaders.