The Bytown Times - ottawaclocksandwatches.ca...Ontario and, according to his obituary, he...
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The Bytown Times ISSN 1712—2799 VOLUME 31 NO.2 MARCH 27, 2011 Inside This Issue January Meeting 1 & 2 About Chapter 111 Officers and Contacts 2 Photos from the Jan 2011 Meeting 3 & 6 Canadian Horological Institute? NOT!! 4—5 List of Local Supply Shops 5 Dan Hudon’s suggested read- ing material 6 Editor’s Corner 6 President’s Corner 6 Next Meeting - March 27, 2011 Ottawa Citizen, 1101 Baxter Road +++++++ Paul Williams talks about restor- ing his Electric Master Clock +++++++ JP. Tourigny speaks about his visit to the Three Rivers School for Watchmakers Auctioneer Maynard Dokken and his able assistant Wally Clemens discussing the finer points of a tambour clock up for sale. JANUARY MEETING ANNUAL TRASH & TREASURE AUCTION The January 2011 meeting of the Ottawa Valley Chapter 111 featured the highly anticipated Trash and Treasure Auction. Over 60 members and guests attended the meet- ing, including a contingent of nine members from the Mont- real Chapters. As in past years, Maynard Dokken was our affable and able Auctioneer. He was assisted by current Chapter President, Wally Clemens. There were numerous clocks for sale, in- cluding a Sessions Drop Octagon (School House) clock, a nice looking tambour clock and a refinished OG among oth- ers. There were several bag lots of Pocket Watch move- ments and Wrist Watches of dubious value — including a couple of genuine fake Rolexes. There was even a nice old clock shelf. Bidding was vigorous and most items found new homes. Allan Symons lead off the Show and Tell with a recently donated Cloister model mantel Clock from the 1930’s. The clock was from the Brantford, Ontario New Haven Clock Fac- tory which was in business through the 1930’s and 40’s. The clock has a beautiful mahogany case and features a brass pendulum movement with Westminster Chimes on tuned rods. (Cont’d P. 2) Congratulations, Charlie! Charlie Beddoe turned a young 91 on January 27. Charlie missed our January meeting so he could globe-trot to the US to visit family
Transcript of The Bytown Times - ottawaclocksandwatches.ca...Ontario and, according to his obituary, he...
The Bytown Times ISSN 1712—2799 VOLUME 31 NO.2 MARCH 27, 2011
Inside This Issue January Meeting 1 & 2
About Chapter 111 Officers and Contacts
2
Photos from the Jan 2011 Meeting
3 & 6
Canadian Horological Institute? NOT!!
4—5
List of Local Supply Shops 5
Dan Hudon’s suggested read-ing material
6
Editor’s Corner 6
President’s Corner 6
Next Meeting - March 27, 2011 Ottawa Citizen, 1101 Baxter Road
+++++++ Paul Williams talks about restor-
ing his Electric Master Clock +++++++
JP. Tourigny speaks about his visit to the Three Rivers School
for Watchmakers
Auctioneer Maynard Dokken and his able assistant Wally Clemens discussing the finer points of a tambour clock up for sale.
JANUARY MEETING ANNUAL TRASH & TREASURE AUCTION
The January 2011 meeting of the Ottawa Valley Chapter 111 featured the highly anticipated Trash and Treasure Auction. Over 60 members and guests attended the meet-ing, including a contingent of nine members from the Mont-real Chapters.
As in past years, Maynard Dokken was our affable and able Auctioneer. He was assisted by current Chapter President, Wally Clemens. There were numerous clocks for sale, in-cluding a Sessions Drop Octagon (School House) clock, a nice looking tambour clock and a refinished OG among oth-ers. There were several bag lots of Pocket Watch move-ments and Wrist Watches of dubious value — including a couple of genuine fake Rolexes. There was even a nice old clock shelf. Bidding was vigorous and most items found new homes. Allan Symons lead off the Show and Tell with a recently donated Cloister model mantel Clock from the 1930’s. The clock was from the Brantford, Ontario New Haven Clock Fac-tory which was in business through the 1930’s and 40’s. The clock has a beautiful mahogany case and features a brass pendulum movement with Westminster Chimes on tuned rods. (Cont’d P. 2)
Congratulations, Charlie!
Charlie Beddoe turned a young 91 on January 27. Charlie missed our January meeting so he could globe-trot to the US to visit family
About Chapter 111
Show and Tell (Cont’d from P. 1)
Peter Kushnir brought along a number of watches to show the members. The first was the Gruen watch that he spoke of at the November meeting. This watch has a wheel marked “Rolex”, a reminder that Gruen once made movements for that company.
Another was an 1883 Waltham with the Dominion Railway movement. The dial featured a steam engine im-age, but the tender behind the locomotive was labeled CPR for the Canadian Pacific Railway. Was the Do-minion Railway an actual railway line that was bought out by the CPR or is this a marriage of a Dominion Rail-way movement and a CPR dial? Peter also spoke of several other pocket watches, including a Swiss fake with a Steam Engine image on the dial and a Bartlett model Waltham with 11 jewels. Past President Maynard Dokken rose on a point of order to chastise the Editor of the ByTown Times. Appar-ently, in the last issue of the Times, the Editor revealed the secret identity of Mr. Dokken as Santa Claus. Mr. Dokken (aka Santa) said the Editor should expect coal in all future Christmas Stockings The Chapter welcomed five new members at the January meeting: Garnet Carswell, Claude LeBlanc, Casey McKibbon, Roger Seward, and Peter Schulz. It’s great to have you on-board!
The Ottawa Valley Chapter 111 of the National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors (NAWCC), is a club for collectors, restorers and researchers interested in antique clocks and watches. Chapter meetings take place five times each year, on the fourth Sunday of January, March, May, September, and November. Doors open at 1:00 PM. Meetings have a varied agenda, includ-ing club business, a Mart for the buying and selling of trash and treasures, and presentations on clocks, watches, tools, repair techniques and history. Chapter members enjoy two annual social events: a Wine and Cheese party in November, and a Picnic BBQ in July. Courses on clock and watch repair are offered throughout the year. Annual Dues for chapter members is $20. Chapter members should also be a member of the NAWCC. NAWCC dues are $65 US funds. The NAWCC is based in Columbia, Pennsylvania, where their world-class museum is located. Check out their web-site at www.NAWCC.org. While surfing the net, check out our chapter website at www.ottawaclocksandwatches.ca
Page 2 THE BYTOWN TIMES Page 2
Officers & Contacts
President & Librarian: Wally Clemens [email protected] (613) 832-3085
Vice President: Georges Royer [email protected]
Treasurer and Show & Display Coordinator: Grant Perry [email protected]
Secretary & Bytown Times Editor: Gary Fox [email protected]
Program & Social Committee: Sharon Boyer [email protected] Erin Fox [email protected]
Education & Workshop Chairman: Dan Hudon [email protected]
Member at Large: Ray Springer [email protected]
Membership Chair: Veronica West
Auditor: Jean Paul Tourigny
Immediate Past President: Maynard Dokken
JANUARY MEETING ANNUAL TRASH & TREASURE AUCTION
THE BYTOWN TIMES Page 3 Volume 31 No.2 March 27, 2011
PHOTOS FROM THE JANUARY MEETING
Allan Symons New Haven Cloister Clock from the factory in Brantford, Ontario. The movement was probably imported from the USA. The case may have been made in the Gunther factory in Brantford
Ashkan Zandi and Mel Nash in deep discussion
The Montreal Nine! You folks are always welcome. Thanks for joining us
Treasurer Grant Perry reported that the chapter finances were “in the Black” after a great year. Grant is speaking with new member Claude LeBlanc, and old-timers Georges Royer and Arnold Van Nieuwburg
Georges Royer at work on a member’s clock
A collection of clocks available for auction. Auctioneer assistant, Wall;y Clemens, presented the clock on the left as a Victorian era, battery pow-ered quartz movement masterpiece to the delight of an incredulous room full of buyers
THE CANADIAN HOROLOGICAL INSTITUTE? NOT!!!
THE BYTOWN TIMES Page 4
Research can be frustrating at times. You have to turn over a lot of rocks to find just one treasure – one nugget of information that could be useful. But it is all part of the game and sometimes an over-turned rock exposes something fun that has no rela-tionship to the original quest. That is the subject of this story. In my quest for information on, and artefacts from, the Canadian Horological Institute (CHI), I have left my card with a lot of collectors and antique dealers across the country and in the USA. Even so, it came as somewhat of a surprise last summer when I received an e-mail from a dealer in Toronto who claimed to have a class picture from a school for watchmakers in Toronto – dated 1891. Eureka! Could that be a class picture from the CHI in its sec-ond year of operation? Better yet, the dealer said he had a bunch of photos of one of the students fea-
tured in the class picture. For me, this was Hog Heaven! But, not so fast - I had to agree to buy the lot “sight unseen”, and I had to drive to Toronto to pick them up. Alas, it was another rock with nothing under it for my planned book on the CHI. The photos included the promised class picture - a shot of several gentlemen standing and seated around a table full of watchmakers tools. On the back of the photo, was written “Coleman’s Watchmaker’s School, Toronto, 1891”. The man seated at the left was identified as student A. Nelson MacLeod, while Mr. Coleman himself was shown standing fourth from the left. What was this? Did Henry Playtner and Edward Beeton open their school in competition with Mr. Coleman? Was Coleman one of the several unidentified watchmakers who wrote to the trade journals deriding the Insti-tute? Or was he a backer of the school? I had to find out. But as with all things, while I did find a lot about Messrs Coleman and MacLeod, there were few answers to my questions. Charles W. Coleman was born September 6, 1840 on the Isle of Wight and immigrated to Canada with his family at the age of eight. Being somewhat adventurous as a teenager, he joined the gold rush to Pike’s Peak, Colorado before travelling to Denver, New York and Louisville. He ultimately returned to Toronto where he opened a jewellery shop selling and servicing watches as part of his trade. There is no record of when or where he learned his trade, but he was listed in the Canadian census as a watchmaker. With his shop on the corner of King and Yonge Streets in Toronto, he would have seen a lot of business. MacLeod was an interesting character. Born on Christmas Day in 1869 in Toronto, he was saddled by his parents with the unusual name of “Admiral Nelson” MacLeod. It is no wonder that the young MacLeod pre-ferred to be known by his middle name. He learned the watchmaking trade from a family friend in Uxbridge, Ontario and, according to his obituary, he apprenticed to Coleman in 1891. MacLeod moved to Cannington, Ontario where he established a jewellery store. In 1920, he trained for the optometry trade and ultimately left his watch and jewellery business to focus (so to speak) on the optometry business. MacLeod was multi-talented. In 1897, he was issued a patent for a “Machine for Raising or Lowering Electric Lights”. He was also interested in acting and put on plays that were very popular in the 1900’s. He was
Coleman’s Watchmakers School(?) Circa 1891. C. W. Coleman is fourth from the left. Student A. Nelson MacLeod is seated on the left
involved in all aspects of the profession, from acting, to directing, to producing and to make-up. He was also interested in music and, in 1941, was issued a copyright for a song he wrote entitled “Wife o’ Mine”. He could play the violin and bagpipes, and he dabbled in poetry. He was a community minded soul, turning some swamp land into a beautiful park along the Beaver River. In 1932, the Toronto Horticulture Society recognized him for his work and, as a tribute, named the recovered land “MacLeod Park” in his hon-our. It is still known as the Cannington MacLeod Park in Brock Township.
Did Coleman run a school for watchmakers? Probably not. He never advertised that business and more likely he simply had numerous apprentices in his shop. I have found that families often misremember the events in the lives of their fore-bears and make notes such as those found on the back of the photo with little un-derstanding of the facts. MacLeod’s obituary set the record straight about his ap-prenticeship with Coleman. Nevertheless, it is likely that Coleman knew Edward Beeton and the CHI. His shop was two blocks from the school and he was a
neighbour of Beeton’s on Bleecker Street in Toronto – just one or two doors apart from each other. Oh well, it was fun……………… Gary Fox
THE CANADIAN HOROLOGICAL INSTITUTE? NOT!!!
Busy Bee Tools: 1400 Agnes Drive, Ottawa, 613-526-4696, www.busybeetools.com
Darlor Restorations: P.O. Box 1347, Hudson, QC J0P 1H0 www.darlor-watch.com [Over 150,000 parts for Waltham, Elgin, Illinois, Hamilton, etc. Also factory sealed Wrist Watch Parts, 1920 to 1970]
Dowd Supply Co: 36 Rosemount Ave., Ottawa, 613-236-9493, www.dowdsupply.com [Jeweler’s Tools, and Equipment (Grobet USA)]
Dynamic Hobbies: 21 Concourse Gate, Unit 6, Ottawa, 613-225-9634, www.dynamichobbies.com [small brass rods and small diameter piano wire]
Fastenal: 6 Bexley Place, Unit 102, Ottawa, 613-288-1470, www.fastenal.com [Some Metal]
Lee Valley Tools: 900 Morrison Drive, Ottawa, 613-596-9202, www.leevalley.com [Tools and round Brass Stock]
Legere Industrial Supplies Ltd.: 1120 Morrison Drive, Ottawa, 613-829-8010, www.legereindustrial.com [Machine
mechanical supplies]
Metal Supermarkets: 2900 Old Sheffield Rd., Unit 1, Ottawa, 613-747-7511, www.metalsupermarkets.com [All metal, sheets, rod plates, in small amounts]
Ottawa Fastener Supply Ltd.: 175 Robertson Road, Bells Corners, 613-828-4117, www.ottawafastenersupply.com [All metric and standard fasteners, Tools]
Page 5 Volume 31 No.2 March 27, 2011
A. Nelson MacLeod acting in roles for different plays
LIST OF LOCAL SUPPLY SHOPS
A. Nelson MacLeod the businessman
DID YOU KNOW?
The Swiss Watch Industry has recovered nicely from the economic recession of 2009. Exports of Swiss wrist watches in 2010 grew to 26.1 million units, valued at 16.1 BILLION Swiss Francs or $16,630,000,000.00 Canadian Dollars! Hong Kong and the USA were the main sales targets— taking 20% and 10% of the watches respectively. http://www.fhs.ch/en/news/news.php?id=839
THE BYTOWN TIMES
Thanks to everyone who has given me positive feed-back on my first issue (January 2011) of the ByTown Times—it is a daunting task to live up to the reputa-tion of my predecessors. But equally important, a big thank you to the folks who made suggestions for im-provements.
These newsletters would not be possible if it weren’t for the support of many members. For this issue, Ben Roberts provided many of the photos; Allan Symons sent me the story and pictures of the Cloister Clock; Dan provided the reading material suggestions; Wally provided his President’s Corner message; Wally and Grant Perry helped identify all the new members. I appreciate all your help.
If you do have a story or suggestions for improve-ments, please feel free to e-mail me at [email protected] Gary Fox
EDITOR’S CORNER
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PRESIDENT’S CORNER
Winter, I hope, is coming to an end. It has been too cold these last few weeks and a litre of furnace oil is reaching parity with the dollar. Winter is usually a time when I can catch up on basement type projects, but this year I have not made much of a dent. To-day I damaged an escape wheel trying to soften a hard arbour before attempting to re-pivot it. If any-one out their can soften a hard French arbour so it can be drilled into, I would love to see how it is done.
Enough complaining. Again I would like to thank Erin and Sharon for their great work arranging this upcoming meeting. In fact there are many people to thank. These meetings don’t just put themselves together, like Scott who keeps us provided with cof-fee. Thank you Scott!
Hope to see you all at the meeting. Wally Clemens
Alan Symons with some sale items from the museum.
SOLD!
The technical hobbyist will find the following articles from the Model Engineer's Workshop very useful: November 2010 - Soldering & brazing in the home workshop part 1; Winter 2010 - Soldering & brazing part 2 with tips for the beginner. - Changing Myford lathe belts. - Thread comparison chart for the larger thread sizes. December 2010 - Same article on changing Myford lathe belts - Lathe work; a look at square, Acme and multiple start threads. January 2011 - Making a set of hex key drivers. - Making a Dremel tool clamp for attachment to the lathe tool post. - Making a lantern chuck for holding screws or bolts in the lathe.
Casey McKibbon, Jordan Renaud and Scott Whiteside enjoy-ing the auction action
DAN HUDON SUGGESTS…..
