Extreme temperature changes can literally tick off the clock at the Cape Girardeau County Courthouse.

It is a sensitive timepiece that requires constant care. But that makes Scott McDowell appreciate all the more the job he inherited from former clock caretaker Robert Dougherty.

"The temperature, if it's too hot or cold, may cause the gears and the pendulum to work a little fast or slow, but it's still a nice piece of machinery," McDowell said.

Dougherty, who took care of the clock from 1977 until 1991, taught McDowell the nuances of the courthouse clock, one of several clocks that define the characters of area towns they preside over.

"People expect the clock to keep accurate time," McDowell said. "Right now it's five minutes fast, but if you don't like what you read on one side you've still got three other sides to look at."

McDowell does his best to make sure all four sides stay the same. But if a part wears out, it may take months before he is able to replace it.

"I called a guy in Connecticut for a part and he just laughed," McDowell said. "He told me it just gets harder and harder to find parts for clocks that were built in the early 1900s."

Mindful of that fact, McDowell said he would love to become "a clock gypsy" and travel the country fixing town clocks. "I don't think you could make much money at it, but it would be fun trying," he said.

Charles Hutson, who maintains the downtown clock on Main Street in Cape Girardeau, said he heard numerous complaints when the timepiece wasn't working several months ago.

"The clock is part of the character of the downtown area," Hutson said. "The Chamber of Commerce uses it to promote tourism by putting it on its logo."

The clock also has a practical purpose. "When it was out of commission, we got all kinds of complaints," Hutson said.

Hutson makes periodic checks to make sure the motor and gear box inside the clock are functioning properly. As president of the Downtown Development Corp., Hutson assumed responsibility of such a task 10 years ago.

The corporation brought the 18th century Canterbury clock replica to Cape Girardeau in 1985. "There was a little controversy in the beginning when cars started to run into the base of the clock after going too fast," Hutson said. "We finally got the city to put in three, two-way stop signs, and that problem has been taken care of."

With the emergence of a gambling casino in downtown Cape Girardeau, there has been talk of moving the clock to provide for a better traffic flow on Main Street.

"Even if it is moved, we'll make sure it has a presence somewhere in the downtown area," Hutson said. "It helps create the turn-of-the-century theme with the cobblestones and park benches."

Elmer Heiserer takes great pride in maintaining the clock at First National Bank on Broadway. In fact, Heiserer can set his watch by it.

The electric clock, which has four faces, needs very little maintenance, Heiserer said.

"It's got a little electric motor," Heiserer said. "About twice a year I have to go up and lubricate it."

Other than that, the only attention the clock needs is when the time changes twice a year or a power failure cuts off electricity to the timepiece.

The clock is in a 6-by-6-foot room in the attic of the building. Heiserer, a maintenance worker at the bank, must climb the steps through the attic and then scale a ladder to reach the clock.

The clock in the bell tower of Trinity Lutheran Church in Cape Girardeau works just fine, but the clock inside the church needs a part repaired.

"The inside clock is on the same circuitry as the one in the bell tower, so we had to shut all of them down until we can fix it," said Gerald Schrader, chairman of the board of trustees at Trinity.

The Victorian clock at Lorimont Place is operated by a small computer on the lower level of the mall. Tom Kelsey, general manager of Lorimont Place, said the clock can be set to change for daylight-saving time in advance.

There were, however, a few bugs to be worked out when the machinery arrived.

"We had a little trouble in the beginning because the hands weren't on the way they should have been, and then high winds knocked the computer out, but now it's working smoothly," Kelsey said.