WEATHERFORD — The news out of the UK generated headlines all week. A report in The Telegraph newspaper declared "schools are removing analog clocks from exam halls as teenagers cannot tell the time."
The newspaper reports that students are too used to digital displays on cell phones and computers and have difficulty with old-fashioned hands. But in Weatherford, Texas, a man who knows clocks thinks that's no excuse.
"I think that they need to be taught," said Mack Dobbs.
Dobbs owns The Clock Shop just off the main square here. He's been working here 11 years, fixing treasures that are brought in by families from across North Texas and as far as New Mexico.
"There's people that look for a long time for somebody to work on their clocks," Dobbs said. "People love their clocks sometimes as much as they do their kids."
Dobbs tinkers with clockwork in his workroom behind his shop. With tools of all shapes and sizes, he and his colleagues tackle clocks that range from 8-foot grandfathers to small desk clocks. He got into clock repair after learning from the previous owner of the shop.
"It's a science, but you've got to have that desire to want to do it," Dobbs said.
Dobbs served as a longtime Parker County Commissioner, and he sees his work in the shop as another form of service. And despite the report out of London, he believes analog clocks still have a bright future.
"I think clocks will always, always have a place in the world," he said. "As the younger generations get older, they're going to get interested in what their parents did and what history was."