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Semi-retired orthopedist has time on and in his hands
Kenneth E. DeHaven, MD, received his degree in horology and opened a clock-repair shop.
After completing 9 months of consecutive clock repair courses, Kenneth E. DeHaven, MD, received his diploma from the School of Horology, in Columbia, Penn.
It is probably the best school of its kind in the world, he said.
“I’m glad I did it, but it is a real commitment,” said DeHaven.
DeHaven graduated from clock school in June and later that month he opened a clock repair business in his basement.
DeHaven’s mentor prior to his formal training was Ted Morse and he said he still works with Morse on Monday mornings.
“The whole tenor of the situation has changed now that we are more like colleagues,” DeHaven noted.
Ken’s Clocks
Orthopedics Today spoke with DeHaven just after he opened Ken’s Clocks. He had already delivered two clocks he had repaired back to their owners and was working on a Scottish grandfather clock that belongs to an associate in the sports medicine group at the University of Rochester.
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“I have a list lined up to turn to,” DeHaven said, indicating he expects business will be as steady.
“My goal is to be able to split my time between still seeing knee patients in the office 1½ days a week, doing a few clocks and having personal time and workout time from here forward,” he explained.
In terms of repairing the Scottish clock, fortunately for DeHaven its works were similar to a Welsh clock from the 1820s his family owns. He repaired that clock as a project during his course on long case clocks at the School of Horology. The associate’s Scottish clock required fewer repairs than DeHaven ultimately performed on his family’s clock.
The family clock had not run for 25 years and required 18 different repairs, including two new parts, he said.
During the class, DeHaven also discovered the Welsh clock once had a calendar function. He planned to work on that with Morse, mostly to fabricate the gears that once ran the calendar.
“It is still nice to have somebody, an experienced person to bounce things off. I just enjoy spending time with him. He is such a neat guy and he really loved the fact I was taking these courses,” DeHaven said.
New skills
His colleague’s Scottish grandfather clock had also not worked for years, but DeHaven felt up to the challenge after completing his training.
Each course lasted 2 or 3 weeks, so DeHaven stayed in a furnished apartment in Columbia within walking distance of the school, but drove the 5 hours home to New York for the week-long breaks between courses.
The courses, which started in mid-October 2008 and ended in June 2009, familiarized him with a variety of clocks, many of which DeHaven had never seen.
“I just knew I needed a broader exposure to the field to be prepared to really take care of almost any kind of clock. These courses were a beautiful blend of didactic teaching and hands-on experience doing the work, taking them apart and putting them back together,” DeHaven said.
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The program started with three general courses followed by individual courses on specific types of clocks, from those that chime and strike, to 400-day anniversary and all-wooden clocks, to name a few.
“It was just a phenomenal learning experience,” he said.
For two of his required nine extra-curricular projects, DeHaven studied and presented on the history and operation of London’s Big Ben clock, which he particularly enjoyed since he was a history major in college.
For more information:Kenneth E. DeHaven, MD, can be reached at the University of Rochester Medical Center, Box 665, 601 Elmwood Ave., Rochester, NY 14642-2970; 585-275-2970; e-mail:
Kenneth_DeHaven@urmc.rochester.edu.