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The School Clock

The clock that hung in the cadet Officer of the Day room — and the bugle calls that ordered every hour it kept.

The Object

Kept by the Officer of the Day

This clock is the original one that was placed in the cadet “Officer of the Day” room, which can be found just inside and to the left of the Main Barracks front entrance. The room was constantly manned by a cadet officer (O.D.), a cadet NCO, and a cadet private throughout the school year. This was considered an “additional duty” and was rotated within the Corps of cadets during the school year.

Although not condoned, many cadets over the years added their personal “mark” to the clock’s face and interior during the long, boring hours of guard duty.

Today, this graffiti serves as a silent testament to all the young men who passed through the doors of this institution over the years.

The Calls

Bugle calls from a worn 78

The O.D. used to play bugle calls in the guard house from an old record player using steel 78 rpm records that were decades old. These records had undergone a lot of abuse over the years.

Even though the school has now closed, a studio recreation of a recording has been made to better resemble what the cadets actually heard during the 1960s and 1970s, including the scratches and approximate volume.