A Family’s Legacy
Although Wiggins Hall is a new, modern facility, it will house a number of nostalgic reminders of the Department of Mechanical Engineering’s past. In particular, the historic grandfather clock that now resides in the administrative office.
For nearly 37 years, mechanical engineering professor John Curtis McKinnon kept the clock, which was responsible for ringing all of the bells on campus, accurate to within seconds. This was a feat that only he could accomplish due to the clock’s intricacy and temperamental nature. The clock was installed in Ramsay Hall in 1925 and professor McKinnon’s devotion and scrupulous attention to it received national recognition.
McKinnon graduated from Alabama Polytechnic Institute in 1923 and provided the College of Engineering with significant leadership and expertise from 1924 until his death in 1962. He was known as a devoted educator and admired for his mechanical ingenuity, teaching ability and broad range of scholarship that included history and languages. When McKinnon grew ill, the clock ran sporadically, and upon his death, it stopped altogether. It has served as a silent tribute to his dedicated service to the college.
The clock was recently refurbished through the diligent work of John Hendricks, a 1964 Auburn graduate and owner of Old Timers & Chimers Antique Clock Shop in Opelika, Ala. Hendricks oversaw the repairing of a number of parts, secured new ones including a pendulum, and refinished the clock’s surfaces, all the while appreciating its sensitive disposition.
The clock’s new life, and its continued maintenance, have been made possible through a generous contribution from McKinnon’s daughter Marjorie McKinnon Hale ’43, and grandchildren Anne Hale Craft ’70, Mary Curtis Hale Schroth ’75 and Ben Hale ’76, in honor of his devoted service to the College of Engineering. In recognition of their gift, a faculty office in Wiggins Hall has been named the John C. McKinnon Faculty Office.
What’s in a Name?
Additional spaces in Phase II of the Shelby Center will be recognized in dedication ceremonies in the coming months. Each of these areas has been named through generous contributions from alumni and friends — benefactors without whom this project would not have been accomplished. These areas include:
Wiggins Mechanical Engineering Hall
Bill and Martha Ward Student Gallery
William B. and Elizabeth Reed Conference Room
Charles M. and Rosemary S. Jager Library
Clarence H. Hornsby Jr. Mechanics of Materials Laboratory
Phillip and Margaret Forsythe Personal Computer Laboratory
Yndalecio A. Elizondo Faculty Office
Advanced Engineering Research Laboratory Building
American Tank & Vessel Gallery
Larry D. Benefield Laboratories
Carroll Commons
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