Vin Acco: Keeping Time for Decades in Mt. Lookout

By Robin Gee

Today, when someone asks “What time is it?” most people pull out their cell phones, even at home. A few still look down at their wrists, but that’s mostly out of fading habit. They are likely to wake up to a ditty of their choice set on their phone alarm and don’t notice the digital time display on the microwave unless it flashes after a storm. 

Once a staple of technology and decor in any home, gone is the mantel clock, the grandfather clock, the cuckoo clock on the wall. Yet, for many, these “analog” time pieces are beloved. They are cherished family heirlooms or the prize possessions of collectors. 

Finding someone with the skills to repair a clock has become more difficult with each passing year. In Mt. Lookout, however, Vin Acco Time Repair helped people keep time for nearly six decades. This spring owner Michael Accurso decided it was time to retire and close up the shop after 57 years on Delta Avenue right on Mt. Lookout Square.

Hyde Park Living spoke with Accurso as he was finishing up orders and selling off the store’s collection of clocks as well as decades of vintage, antique and rare clock parts. Beautiful clocks sat on shelves or in a glass display case. Grandfather clocks lined the walls of the shop. Against a backdrop of gentle ticking and occasional chiming, Accurso spoke about the business, started by his father in the 1940s in the basement of their home.

Crafting a business

Vincent Accurso came to America from Italy. He entered the country through New York as most immigrants did at that time. He made his way to Cincinnati and took a job as a clock technician at the Herschede Hall Clock Company downtown. 

He actually worked for two employers in town going back and forth between Herschede and Gruen & Sons located at what became known as “Time Hill” on East McMillan.

“This was before unions. [Herschede] would work their workers in the Christmas season, work them like dogs and then lay them off at the first of the year…The qualified people would then go over to Gruen and get a job until Herschede was rehiring. Herschede paid a little bit better, maybe ten cents an hour more,” Michael Accurso said. 

Starting in the 1940s, in the basement of their home, his father began repairing clocks and watches as a side hustle after work.

“Since he was a watch repairman and a clock repairman, he was busy. I remember sleeping in my parents’ bedroom on occasions, and he’d be working at the bench at 11 o’clock at night,” Accurso said.

Finally, his father had enough work he could quit Herschede and open his own clock repair business in 1960 in Walnut Hills. The shop was on May Street near the family home.

The lost art of attention to detail

Accurso grew up helping his father, and the plan was always to keep the business in the family. Yet, as many young men in the mid-1960s, he was drafted. He served in the US Navy until 1966. Upon coming home, he actually returned to a job he’d held at Merrill Lynch before he was drafted. If he did that, he said, the company would count his years of military service as part of his seniority and that factored into a nice boost in the year-end bonus.

After those few months, however, he joined his dad. Soon after, in 1968, they moved the shop to 1006 Delta Avenue, where the shop remained until last May. 

Accurso said his dad, whom he called Pop, kept a close eye on his son’s work, often watching over his shoulder to ensure he did everything up to par.

“The thing is, my parents were immigrants. They had no money. They had to work hard. They had to work honest, work long, and that’s just something he instilled, fortunately, into our family. They instilled that in me and in my brother and sister, who are more successful than anybody I know.”

Looking back, Accurso said he is proud of the level of care and craftsmanship established at Vin Acco. That skill and attention to detail has become rare today, he said.

People cannot find someone who can do the repairs. Those with an interest will sometimes teach themselves. Most of those today offering their services over the Internet are usually overpricing and they cut corners, he added.

“I was not the most expensive, but from a workmanship point of view I did what I said. And I made a profit still.”

Fixing and collecting

When asked which clocks are his favorite, Accurso said, probably, it’s the French clocks. The quality of the workmanship was much better than that of the Americans or even the Germans, he said.

Pointing to an ornate porcelain clock on the shelf, he said, “My taste is sort of garish. I don’t like straightforward blah. I like pomp and ceremony like this one…My collection…well, people just marvel,” he said.

Accurso became a clock collector as soon as he could afford to, he said. He has 38 clocks at home in his collection.

“By collectors’ standards, that’s nothing. Some collectors have hundreds. What I didn’t do was I didn’t collect everything in a series. I didn’t collect special occasions. I collected what I liked,” he said. 

He didn’t have a picture of the favorite clock in his collection, but he shared this story about how it came into his possession about 35 years ago.

“It was a funny thing. A lady came into the shop. She had what they call a cartel, which is a huge brass case. It takes two big screws to hold it in place. She said, ‘I want you to refinish the brass, make it brand new, clean and overhaul it.’ And so we did, and then we called her after we finished it…The cost was $300. She said, ‘I ain’t paying that,” Accurso said.

They argued back and forth, but the lady walked out, leaving the clock behind. 

“It sat around here for years, and I always admired it. I thought it was the prettiest clock in the world.”

On old clocks and what’s next

When he repairs a clock, Accurso said he usually doesn’t do much to the outside. He doesn’t want to disturb the patina, the wear that shows a clock has a history. He focuses on the inside.

He said, when people bring in a clock, one of the first things he does is open up the back.

“You can look in and give it the finger test by wiggling a couple gears. You can tell if this is bad or that’s bad. Just a couple observations, you can tell…It’s always repairable, but then you have to decide to what extent do you want to do it? Some people are carte blanche, other people are definitely on a budget,” he said.

For many, it’s a sentimental decision, and that affects how much you’d want to put into it. He said be wary of clock repair services offered online. Do the research.

As Accurso was winding down his work, customers and community members stopped by and sent notes of congratulations on his retirement. His daughter, Theresa Kroeger shared some of the warm sentiments he’s received.

One person summed it up, “Thank you for supporting our community for as long as you have. It’s always been great to see your shop when I’m in Mt. Lookout Square.”

Accurso and his wife raised six children, and he has lots of grandchildren, he said. When asked if he’ll kick back now and just enjoy his retirement, he said he’s not one to just sit around.

“I’ve gotta to find something to do. I’ve laid in bed now for the last few months thinking, ‘Once I dump this place, what am I going to do next?’ I’ve been talking to a lot of people who are volunteers,” he said.

Now, Accurso is moving into the next chapter, looking to give back to the community

Clock collecting is big, and there are clock enthusiast groups and professional resources online and in person. One of the largest is the American Watchmakers-Clockmakers Institute (awci.com) based in Harrison, Ohio. The institute offers several classes, workshops and events related to watch and clock making, and houses the Orville R. Hagans History of Time Museum. 

The National Association of Watch & Clock Collectors, Inc. (nawcc.org), has chapters and holds regional meetings and conventions for watch and clock enthusiasts in Ohio and Pennsylvania. They also operate the National Watch & Clock Museum in Columbia PA, just outside of Lancaster.  

For fun, you can also check out the World’s Largest Cuckoo Clock in Sugarcreek, Ohio, northeast of Columbus in Amish country.