Timeless Talent

For nearly 50 years, Dick Fugman wanted to build a grandfather clock.

The cherry wood for the project had been waiting almost as long. Dick purchased the wood decades ago while living in Illinois, long before he and his wife became residents at Greencroft Middlebury. For years, the idea stayed tucked away in the back of his mind — something he hoped to do “someday.”

Now, inside the Greencroft Middlebury woodshop, that long-awaited project is finally taking shape.

“I had wanted to make one of these 50 years ago, and I never got around to it,” Dick said. “Then one of the guys here said, ‘Why don’t you make something for yourself?’”

That simple conversation gave Dick the push he needed.

By then, he had already started reconnecting with woodworking through projects in the shop and felt ready to tackle something more ambitious. The timing finally felt right.

“So I decided to go ahead and use my skills,” he said.

Building the clock has been far more involved than simply cutting wood and assembling pieces together. Dick modeled the project after an original clock design by Aaron Willard, a well-known clock maker from the late 1700s. Using original plans from the Willard Museum, Dick carefully recreated the design using modern technology and decades of machining experience.

First, he created detailed CAD drawings on the computer, carefully planning every component before beginning construction.

“I had to interpret the plans and put everything into CAD,” Dick explained. “That probably was 100 hours right there.”

From there, the project became a mix of hand craftsmanship and modern technology. Some pieces were shaped by hand. Others were created using the shop’s CNC router, which Dick helped bring into regular use after realizing no one knew how to operate it.

“It’s something I carried over from my past life as a tool and die maker machinist,” he said.

That background has proven especially valuable throughout the project. Dick’s experience working with precision machining and design software allowed him to create detailed CAD drawings and confidently use the CNC router to produce custom components for the clock.

That attention to detail carries through every stage of the build, from custom moldings to carefully fitted doors and intricate inlay work along the base.

And like many craftsmen, Dick admits perfectionism sometimes gets the better of him.

“The legs I did make twice,” he said with a laugh. “I just didn’t like the way they looked.”

One of his favorite details on the clock is deeply personal. Some of the wood being used came from Dana Snyder, a former Greencroft Middlebury resident who helped establish the campus woodshop before passing away last year.

“I’m using some of Dana’s cherry wood for the door as a tribute to him,” Dick shared. “I thought that was kind of neat.”

That sense of community is part of what Dick enjoys most about spending time in the woodshop. Residents share ideas, encourage one another, and teach each other new skills. Dick often helps newer woodworkers learn techniques and safely use equipment, while also learning from others in return.

One friendship in particular has stood out to him.

“David is a retired pastor,” Dick said. “He wanted to learn woodworking, so I teach him. And he’s doing pretty good.”

For Dick, woodworking has become about much more than building a clock. It is also an opportunity to express creativity, patience, and faith.

“I try to do everything to glorify my Savior,” he said. “It’s not about me, it’s about Him. He gave me the ability to do what I do.”

That perspective shapes the way Dick approaches both his work and his relationships with others in the shop. Whether helping another resident learn a new skill or carefully refining a piece of the clock, he sees craftsmanship as a way to use the gifts he has been given.

The project has also become a way to honor the past while creating something future generations can treasure. Dick hopes the grandfather clock will eventually become a family heirloom passed down through the years.

Inside the clock, he included a laser-etched portrait of himself and his wife—a hidden keepsake for his grandchildren to discover someday.

“If my grandkids have it, they can take a look at Grandma and Grandpa,” he said with a smile.

Though the project is still underway, Dick already knows what completing the clock will mean to him personally.

“I guess I’m fulfilling a lifelong desire to build one,” he said.

After waiting half a century to begin, the grandfather clock has become far more than a woodworking project for Dick. It represents years of skill, persistence, and a desire to keep learning and creating.

And at Greencroft Middlebury, Dick’s grandfather clock is becoming more than a long-awaited woodworking project. It’s a reminder that some dreams are worth holding onto until the time is finally right.