After nearly seven years of inactivity, a beloved clock that shows the time and temperature in downtown Palmerton is fully operational.

The clock is located at the Palmerton Pharmacy, a new independent drugstore that opened Feb. 20 at 330 Delaware Ave.

Joe Bennett, property owner, said, “The idea came from me realizing how valuable that sign is being right on Delaware Avenue, and therefore we wanted to restore it and make it as visible as it always was to the community, while advertising for the new pharmacy.”

Bennett said. “It’s good to bring it back to life since the previous bank didn’t operate it.”

However, Bennett said they are presently trying to find the controller that would change the clock to Daylight Saving time.

“Right now, we are an hour off, but the temperature is precise,” he said.

Previously, the property had been the former BB & T Bank, which closed its branch office on July 20, 2021.

“Hopefully, someone who worked at the bank will be able to tell us where that box may be located,” Bennett said.

Bennett noted there had been metal plates over the time/temp, but added that the clock is now fully operational.

“The good news is it will be correct in another two weeks,” he said. “It’s going to really make that quite a focal point for the town, as it always was.”

Bennett said that the light bulbs are $10 apiece, and that there are 245 bulbs in the sign, an expense of nearly $2,500.

Contacted Friday morning, resident Ruth Kindrew, who in 2016 started a petition on Change.org to the then BB&T Bank to save the clock, said she was thrilled to hear the clock is being restored.

“I can’t tell you how happy I am,” Kindrew said. “Everybody was always happy to have our town clock, and sad to see it go.”

Kindrew started the petition after citing that the clock has been a part of the downtown for decades, and that many who come and go through town look to the clock for the right time and to see the temperature.

She initially noted in the beginning of July 2016 that the clock in front of the then bank was covered up.

At that point, Kindrew tried to contact the then bank, and was informed that while their employees also missed the clock, there wasn’t anything that could be done on their level.

The corporate offices of BB&T at that time suggested that parts and upkeep were the main issue behind the choice to remove old signs.

That inspired Kindrew to take action and create the petition.

Since closed, the petition had garnered 215 supporters.

Bruce Maysmith, one of the petition signers at that time, said then he believed that the original time and temp was installed around the time his dad was hired at the former Palmerton Savings and Loan in 1968.

Maysmith said it was updated when the former Keystone Savings bought them out around 1973.

Kindrew said she’s certain most of the people in town are very happy to see the clock functioning again.

“We’re a small town; it’s just something that has always been there,” she said. “You just kind of glance at the clock, see what the time is, see what the temperature is.”

Bennett said that the Palmerton Pharmacy has new a sign coming within two to three weeks “but, there’s lots of delays due to the supply chain being broken.”

As for the pharmacy, which held a soft opening on Feb. 20 and is 100% open, Bennett said it’s “doing really well.”

“It’s amazing how many prescriptions are being transferred to Palmerton Pharmacy, even though we are waiting for signage which will be right above the time and temperature, and also on the building itself,” he said. “Our tenants are really nice people to work with and value the customers’ time by trying to get them in and out expeditiously.”