As a young child, I developed a fascination for clocks while visiting my grandmother’s home in Elm City, North Carolina. Her mantel clock, a Seth Thomas model, sat above her black and white television set on a wire stand in 1962. The clock would chime once on the half-hour and then count the hour, always in sync with the changing television shows. I started to notice that the hourly chime would cue me to pay attention to the time, reminding me of how long I had been watching TV or signaling me to move on to something else.
The clock’s precise timekeeping was regulated by a pendulum inside, and I never saw it being adjusted. It was always accurate, matching the time on my trusty Timex watch. Although I never had the opportunity to meet my grandfather before he passed away, I imagined him using his engineering expertise to perfect the clock’s pendulum length and ensure its accuracy.My affinity for clocks began when I was very young at my Grandmothers house in Elm City, NC. She had a Seth Thomas mantel clock which sat above her 19 inch black and white television back which sat on a wire stand back in 1962.
The clock would gong once on the half hour and then count the hour. It seemed to always be in sync with the shows that were changing on the television. After a while I begin to feel “queued” by the hour count as a reminder of how long I was watching television or a signal of something to do or a place to go.
This clock has a pendulum inside to regulate the time. I never remember seeing it adjusted and it was always right on to the time on my dependable Timex from days of old. I never had the chance to see my grandfather before he passed. He was an engineer, so I could image him making as many adjustments as needed until the pendulum length was perfect for the clock to keep great time.
The clock is still running almost 100 years later and now at our home. I hope it will come to visit our home for many years as it has the decades prior for other family members.