[fhs-65] Spring forward

  • From: Steve <sfgrob@xxxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: FHS-65 <FHS-65@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Sat, 12 Mar 2022 14:00:47 -0500

Well, it's that dreaded time of year again where we have to go through this stupid ritual of moving the clocks ahead 1 hour.  Personally, I really hate this.

There is a movement on congress to dump yearly time changes, but this will go nowhere as there just is no consensus as to which way to go.  Surveys indicate that 31% of Americans wanted to keep switching the clocks back and forth every year, 36% who wanted Daylight Saving Time all year around, and 30% who wanted Standard Time all year around.  With the country divided by so many other things, this time change thing will be sure to stay on the shelf.

With this impending task looming, I thought I would take count of all the clocks and watches in our home.  I'm rather fond of clocks so I knew there would be quite a few.  I counted 26 time pieces, and probably one or two were missed.  Fortunately, only about half of that count are in active use and will require adjustment.

Here are a few of the oldest/interesting (to me anyway) time pieces.


Above mantel is probability the oldest, and most difficult clock to date, but most likely was made in the 1850s to 1880s.  There is no brand or serial number on the clockworks, but there is a label on the back of the clock identifying the clock as a "Belmont".  This clock was mass produced and inexpensive.  Tons of these were made and sold as "house" brands for large department stores.  The clock is still running today and keeps reasonably good time.  I just have to adjust it a minute or two when I wind it each week.  Story is this clock was a wedding present to the parents of my grandmother's oldest sister's husband.


Above is a collection of pocket watches.  Top left is an Elgin "Sidewinder" made in 1880.  On the top right is Hampden  "Sidewinder" made in 1903.  The interesting thing about the sidewinders is the fact that the stem for winding is at the three o'clock position and the hands are set by unscrewing the bezel that holds the crystal to expose a small lever at the five o'clock position.  Pulling out this small lever engages the stem into the hand setting mode.
I always thought these top two were my grandfathers watches, but found out after a little research that my grandfathers were mere toddlers when these pocket watches were produced.  So unless they acquired them used, which seems unlikely, ownership goes back even further on the family tree.  The 1880 Elgin keeps remarkably good time for something 142 years old.
The Hamilton on the bottom was my father's pocket watch from 1946.  Still keeps great time but needs a good cleaning.  


The above clock is a Waltham 8 day clock made in 1916.  Again, this was a very popular clock.  It was categorized as a "transportation" clock as it was rugged and used in cars and aircraft of the time.  This same model of clock was in the airplane that Lindbergh famously used to cross the Atlantic.  Tons of these clocks were produced over several decades so they are not rare.  Except this one.  It considered quite rare as it was manufactured specifically for the U.S.Army Aviation Section Signal Corps (see the A.S.S.C. on face).  One unique aspect of this clock is that has two mainsprings allowing to run for 8 days with increased accuracy.
But the back story is interesting too.  My great uncle was a "rigger" in the Army Signal Core during WWI.  The Signal Core is where aviation got its start in the military.  His outfit trained new pilots on the Curtiss JN "Jenny" that was a fabric covered tail dragging bi-plane.  One day, one of these Jennys went down and crashed beyond repair, and my uncle salvaged this very same clock from that downed JN trainer.
Winding down, Steve

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