The clock at Center School hasn't told anyone the time in years.

"People like me who grew up in town were used to the bell ringing 24/7," said Ray Andrews, a former Mattapoisett Selectman who is spearheading the effort to restore the clock to working condition.

Andrews is in the process of raising the $67,000 it will take to have Balzer Family Clock Works, based in Freeport, Maine, turn back the clock.  As of last Friday, Andrews was $1400 shy of the $10,000 mark.

The 1898 Seth Thomas clock, dormant since the mid-1990s, was accidentally frozen in time by a well-meaning, but ignorant, maintenance person who attempted to lubricate the clock with WD-40.

"A properly restored clock, everything on it will be bright, shiny brass," said Andrews, pointing to the gummed up gears that are now coated with dust and sand attracted by the WD-40.

Today, the clock sits overlooking Barstow Street, inactive.  The tower that houses the clock mechanism is choked with dust with graffiti from Center School students in years past coating every surface. Even the massive, brass 1898 Meneele Bell is covered in chalk and marker signatures.

A previous attempt to fix the clock in the mid-1990s failed.  The clock functioned for two months before stopping again.

"These were the Rolls-Royce of tower clocks," said Andrews.

The public has never seen the clock mechanism, but Andrews hopes that will change soon.

"Balzer encourages that the clocks be viewable," said Andrews. "For the first time, the public will be able to view the clock."

The plan calls to relocate the clock mechanism in a room at the base of the clock tower that currently houses the music teacher's office. The mechanism will be stored behind plate glass and will be viewable by the public.

Andrews wants the clock to be fully mechanical, the way it was when it was built in 1898.  The only changes will be the replacement of brass with stainless steel in order to avoid rust and other maintenance issues.

"Balzer will come in, take apart the gears, sandblast everything and replace the gears that are worn out," said Andrews. "A few gears need to be replaced entirely."

Restoration can begin as soon as donations reach $10,000. Once work begins, Balzer will also add a programmable shut off so that the bell only rings during the day so as not to bother residents and an automatic winding mechanism.

"The school committee was adamant that the janitorial staff not be required to wind the clock," said Andrews, recalling that school janitors were responsible for the clock when he attended Center School.

Andrews said that someone will be made the clock's keeper and that it will be that person's responsibility to ensure that the knowledge of how to properly maintain the clock will be passed on from generation to generation.

"This clock never failed when I was a kid," said Andrews. "If you maintain it properly then it'll last for hundred of years."