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.

Seth Thomas Mantel Clock

The clock is still running almost 100 years later and now sits on the mantel in my parents den. I hope it will come to visit our home for many years as it has the decades prior for other family members.

Over the following weeks I will be adding other clocks that all have meaning to us.