Mt. Olympus Clock Shop
“We just kind of grew up working with him in the shop.” For Joseph Recksiek, becoming part of Mt. Olympus Clock Shop was less of a career decision than something that happened naturally. He and his six siblings grew up nearby, and by junior high, Joe was coming in after school several days a week to unpack merchandise, organize shelves and take on whatever job his father handed him. One of his earliest memories is dismantling cuckoo clock movements so they could be repaired.
The family’s history with clocks reaches back another two generations. Joe’s great-grandfather, Heinrich, known as Henry, immigrated from Germany in 1950. Together with his son Werner, Joe’s great-uncle, he began repairing clocks and sewing machines, initially going door to door asking homeowners if they had anything that needed fixing. Henry concentrated on repairs while Werner and his wife, Helga, helped build the business.
In 1958, they established Mt. Olympus Clock Shop, operating it from the basement of the building while living upstairs. At first, it was primarily a repair business. But the family maintained strong connections to Germany and began making buying trips there for clocks, parts, and items they thought might appeal to their customers. Those trips changed the business in an unexpected way.
Among the items Werner and Helga discovered were hand-carved German nutcrackers. During one visit to a trade show, Werner was ill and remained at the hotel, leaving Helga to walk the show alone. There, she encountered Christian Steinbach whose family company was becoming known for its handcrafted wooden figures. Helga hesitantly placed a substantial order for nutcrackers, uncertain whether she had made a terrible mistake. She need not have worried, as they all sold.
The following year the Recksieks ordered more, and eventually Mt. Olympus Clock Shop became known almost as much for its German collectibles as for its clocks. Traditional nutcrackers portrayed kings, soldiers, and other figures of authority, but Steinbach began expanding into professions, folklore, literature, and themed limited editions. Over the years, collectors have sought everything from blacksmiths and cobblers to characters from the legends of King Arthur, the Twelve Days of Christmas, and Santas representing different parts of the world.
The height of nutcracker collecting came during the 1990s, Joe explained, although devoted collectors remain. Some anticipate each year’s new releases so eagerly that they stay up until midnight in Utah, when it is morning in Germany, to see the latest designs appear online. Joe understands the attraction. After spending his life surrounded by them, he has a small collection of his own.
Cuckoo clocks arrived through those early buying trips as well. Initially, the family sold them primarily within Salt Lake’s German community, but they steadily became one of the shop’s signature items. Today, chalet-style clocks depicting German houses and village scenes sit alongside more traditional carved versions adorned with birds, woodland animals, and hunting motifs, many originating in Germany’s Black Forest.
Then there are grandfather clocks. During the 1980s and 1990s, Joe remembers them as something of a milestone purchase. “It was like you had arrived.” Tastes have changed, and the shop sells far fewer than it once did, although repairing and maintaining them remains an important part of the business. The store also carries wall and mantel clocks, German watches, whimsical Kit-Cat Klocks with their moving eyes and tails, and traditional German smokers - carved wooden figures that hold an incense cone inside, sending smoke curling from their mouths.
Through all those changes, repair work has remained at the heart of Mt. Olympus Clock Shop. Joe’s father took ownership of the business in 1987, and the children learned by working alongside him. Four of the seven siblings remain involved today, each developing a specialty. Adam concentrates primarily on grandfather clocks, often traveling to customers’ homes just as he once did with his father. Aaron specializes in watches and received training through Rolex. Joe handles many of the smaller repairs done in the shop, while Kirsten oversees the bookkeeping and helps keep the operation running smoothly. Several additional clockmakers round out the repair staff.
Their father officially retired in the 2020s, although retirement has proved to be a relative term. After decades of working as many as seventy hours a week, Joe joked that his father’s version of retirement is simply working closer to twenty hours. And another generation is already learning the business. One of Joe’s sons has apprenticed in cuckoo clock repair while another works with customers in the store. Two of Kirsten’s children are involved as well.
There was never a rule that everyone had to remain in the family shop. All seven siblings worked there at some point, but several eventually chose other paths. Joe, also, dipped his toes into other potential possibilities as a young adult, but, somehow, he kept finding his way back. “It just was the thing that came naturally.”
More than sixty-five years after the doors opened, customers continue to find Mt. Olympus Clock Shop much as they always have - often because someone else told them where to take a cherished clock or watch that had stopped working. Others discover the store through its extensive collection of clocks and German collectibles, while nutcracker enthusiasts order from around the country. For Joe, however, the longevity of the business is about more than what his family has repaired or sold. It is about the people who have allowed four generations of Recksieks to keep doing it. “It’s hard to convey how appreciative we are of the community that we’ve had over the years. I feel blessed and very thankful that we have so many wonderful customers that have supported us for so many years.”
