Still Ticking

STILL TICKING By Rochelle McCracken

It’s a masterful piece bearing witness to time since it’s purchase in 1865. The cost for this magnificent clock was $10 (plus 1 cow!) and resides on the Throckmorton family farmstead. The antique wood -plated postman-style grandfather clock was recently restored to proper function and reinstalled in the farmhouse. The Throckmorton farm is owned by Ron Throckmorton, the descendant of John Throckmorton. John arrived in the US in 1631; the family history can be traced back to the crusades. The clock was originally purchased by Ron’s great-greatgrandfather, Job Throckmorton, in 1846 and later acquired at sale by his great-grandfather in 1898 after Job’s death. Originally the house was a two-room dwelling that used a 43-footdeep hand dug well. A new 5 room house was built in 1865 and included the installation of the grandfather clock. Since then some of the original property has been bought and sold, but the original house built in 1865 still exists today. Ron has been renovating the house and had the clock serviced by Jeffrey Baun.

Have you ever wondered why it’s called a grandfather clock? It’s the result of an American song written in 1875 by Henry Work. While in London, Henry had visited the George Hotel in North Yorkshire, England.

In the lobby sat a large clock with an interesting story. The large pendulum clock had belonged to owners of the Inn that had since passed away. It was said that the clock stopped dead to the minute at the death of the last remaining owner. Henry was fascinated by the tale and the song, “My Grandfather’s Clock” was born. The lyrics depict a clock that’s “taller by half than the old man himself ” and described how it “stopped short” and was “never to go again” upon the grandfather’s death. The term “Grandfather Clock” was coined at that moment.

Some grandfather clocks have pendulums that are housed in a long case. Christian Huygens developed these pendulum clocks in 1656. They were a breakthrough in time keeping and due to their precision, the clocks most often used until 1930. Ron’s pendulum clock was housed in the wall of the home during its construction in 1865. The face is hand painted on carved wood with metal hands. The restoration included cleaning the clock face to stabilize and slow its deterioration from the effects of time. A vertical crack, visible in the face of the clock, was left unrepaired. Ron decided it was best to leave this crack unrestored. His sentiments are, “An antique such as this has earned its scars.”

Another hand represents the date accounting for 31 days in the month. Corrections to time and the date are made by manually moving the minute hand around the dial. The movement of the pendulum regulates the advancement of the clocks hands a fixed amount with each swing. The pendulum’s bob can be turned to adjust the speed of the swing and is used to speed-up and slow down the time kept by the clock. Its power source is two metal cylinders, filled with metal chad, that act as weights. Each cylinder is suspended on its own chain and wraps around a sprocket. The clock is wound by pulling the free end of the chain, moving the cylinders up the housing. Gravity forces the cylinders down, rotating the chain sprockets and supplying the energy needed to power the clock’s movement. The working pieces are made of brass and metal that cannot be found in today’s market. Jeffrey machined any piece that needed to be replaced and then cleaned, adjusted and oiled the fine moving parts.

Before (top) and after(bottom) Jeffrey restored part of the interior of the clock.

Jeffrey took great care to return the clock to proper function and, along with the help of his wife Barbara, reinstalled the clock into its original place in the wall of Ron’s house. It was a glimpse of time passed. As the clock struck 11:00 and chimed

I thought how very special it was to witness this beautiful grandfather clock still functioning with purpose over a century and a half after it was built. Have an antique clock

that needs serviced? Jeffrey Baun owns and operates Antique Clock Service; contact him at 724-435-7276.