[Published in The Pride of Olney, official newsletter of the Lions Club of Olney, Maryland,
Volume XXX, No. 76, October 2005]
By Henry Zecher
Everybody has heard the song or read the poem. The story is wonderfully told in lyrics that are perfect as well as poignant, and most assume it to be nothing more than a lovely song, except for one thing ~ the clock this song memorialized is real, and the story it tells is true. Pretty much!
It began at the George Hotel, a lone haven of hospitality by the Dere Street, an old Roman road at Piercebridge, near Darlington, on the Durham side of the River Tees, in North Yorkshire, England. This charming 16th century riverside Coaching Inn, sitting at the gateway to the beautiful Yorkshire Dales, was a rest stop for weary travelers, and has been in business longer than North America has.
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