The Star-Phoenix Clock was erected on October 6, 1920, in memory of Talmage Lawson who perished in the First World War. In 1912, Talmage and his partner Bill Herman bought the Capital, one of Saskatoon's daily newspapers, and renamed it the Saskatoon Daily Star. In 1928, the Star amalgamated with the Phoenix and formed the Star-Phoenix which still serves the city today. The Star-Phoenix Clock is a protected heritage property established by Bill in memory of his partner. Bill hired the Seth Thomas Clock Company to create a timepiece and erected it outside the newspaper office at 20th Street East. Seth Thomas was the first to succeed in designing and making tower clocks in different countries.
The two-sided clock stands 15 feet high with a square pedestal and column of cast-iron. The clock was originally powered by a heavy counterweight and cranked every Monday morning. It now operates electrically via a cable running to the Star-Phoenix press room. Two heaters are turned on to keep it going in the winter. The clock had a large thermometer bolted onto it for the first several decades. There are two holes on the street-facing side where it was attached.
The old interior clockworks have been removed and new faces were put on in 1978. When the old clockworks and counterweights were removed, they were sent to Regina for scrap. Hugh McNaughton, a Star-Phoenix technician and Bert Buckle, a well-known local watch maker, went to Regina to retrieve them.
When the Star-Phoenix moved to 5th Avenue in 1967, the clock moved too. When it was moved the base was sandblasted to remove layers of paint. The original paint was black or brown. The clock was moved to its current location in 1979.
Private Talmage Lawson was born in Prince Edward Island in 1879. Lawson spent his pre-war years trading and selling horses. Lawson’s mother, Alice, died unexpectedly in 1910 after a weeklong illness. He travelled the world extensively and when he got into Africa, took the railroad as far as it would go then journeyed deep into the continent on foot. After only a few days of hiking and sleeping on the ground, Lawson came down with a fever. He returned to the train, but his fever worsened. For nine days aboard the train, Lawson became delirious. He returned to Saskatoon and enlisted as a private in October of 1914. Private Thomas Lawson died at age 35 near the Belgian village of Kemmel.
