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HOLLADAY — At a place where time is measured in seconds, minutes and hours gave way to decades.
"I've done this 41 years," said Norm Recksick, leaning up against a pillar behind the counter at Mt. Olympus Clock Shop. "I apprenticed under my grandfather for six years. They came over from Germany in 1950, and grandpa and my uncle started the business in 1958."
Nearly 60 years later, that business — first begun under the watchful eyes of Heinrich Recksick and his brother Werner — is booming. Norm said his shop has a backlog of about 150 clocks awaiting repair and he spends about 70 hours a week traveling around the area, fixing grandfather clocks.
But most of the shop's business takes place within the store, at 2265 E. 3900 South. Just a few feet away from the counter sits Joseph Recksick, who keeps everything running.
"They're really good about being here right on time," Joseph said, glancing around at the clocks covering the walls. "They will know that I will know."
In a little booth off to the side sits Aaron Recksick, who spends his days repairing the tiny inner workings of watches.
And down in the basement is Tom Recksick, who primarily focuses on cuckoo clocks. "They let me come upstairs," he said with a laugh.
If you've noticed a trend, all of these men are related. Tom is Norm's brother, and Joseph and Aaron are Norm's sons.
"I think, initially, I didn't want to get into the family business," Aaron said. "It wasn't until working at the counter and seeing how much people love the store — people would come in the store and bring their family here."
"When I was like 7 or 8 years old, my dad would bring home cuckoo clock movements," Joseph said. "I'd just dismantle them and put them into piles and things like that."
In a way, this family business harkens back to medieval Germany, when guilds practiced their crafts and masters passed on their expertise to apprentices through the centuries.
"I won't train somebody in the specialized work that I do, and neither will my brother, unless it's a family member," Norm said. "We don't want them to turn around and say, 'A-ha! Well, we're just going to open up a shop across the street,' so to speak, and compete. So we want to keep the trade, just like grandpa kept the trade, within the family bonds."
There's yet another way this shop resembles medieval Germany: in all the years it's been around, it's never moved.
"They lived upstairs; the shop was downstairs," Norm said. "We're actually in the living room area, and behind this wall was the kitchen area. That's very much how they do it in Europe. Even today, there's many, many family businesses where they just walk up the back stairs, and that's where they live. And then every day, they go down and open up the shop doors."
"A business that goes back four generations and brings a hands-on trade from Germany is pretty unique," Joseph said.
Of course, a fifth generation is waiting in the wings.
"My oldest, Sam, he talks about it all the time: 'When can I start workin'? I gotta fix some clocks,'" Joseph said.
Until then, the rest of the team will keep giving new meaning to the term "working from home."
"The best part of working here is family," Tom said.
"Even though they may not think so, I love having my sons here," Norm said. "Sometimes grandkids are running around here, and I love that."
