It keeps going and going

Do you have a family treasure and that you enjoy? That question contains many elements. There is possession. Someone had it before you and there will be continuity when you pass it on. Age is implied, meaning your treasure is at least one generation old. There is a family connection, either your family of origin or family of the heart. Then there is the hint of value, not that the item itself is necessarily valuable, but that its value is based on who it came from, how it was acquired or what it represents. Finally, there is the aspect of joy; do you get pleasure out of being the current steward?

I have my grandmother's mantle clock. This German made clock was a wedding present to Ella and Ferdinand Huebel in 1895. It’s the kind where the Westminster chime announces 15 minutes and then counts off the correct hour. Grandma gave it to my parents when they got married in 1928. There is a picture of my brother from the early 1930s where he is in a playpen in the foreground and the clock is visible in the back.

By the time I came along, however, the clock was packed away in the attic where I found it when I was in my 20s and learned its history. I asked if I could have it. My father's best friend, Bill, was a clock repairman, so he got the insides working again and then my dad refreshed the wood on the outside. In 1974, I carried it from Buffalo to Chicago on an American Airline flight, carefully stowing it on the floor under the seat in front of me, then through O'Hare, and into the first apartment I had on my own. 

Bill's work kept the clock going for 20 years until some small piece gave out. After asking around, I found a skilled craftsman, one who loves his life's work among other's treasures. Once he located a fairly rare part, home it came, and continued to work for another 20 years, until one day when I wound it, there was a loud 'that doesn't sound good' noise that made me think that I had overwound it. But no, another original part had given out, said my repairman, and he told me it would very hard to find but he would look or see if he could get someone in his network to make a replacement. 

For the next two years he searched while I grieved the empty spot where the clock should be. I missed my weekly connection with my maternal forebears who turned the key every week before me, or thinking about the picture of my brother or my dad sanding and staining the wood. Finally one day I stood in the clock shop almost in tears and said that I simply wanted my treasure back. He proposed a different solution. He would remove the original mechanism and replace it with a modern one, but he would keep searching for the part it needs. I agreed.

In October, 2013 I brought it home. Batteries replaced my need to wind up the clock every five days. Two weeks later when we 'fell back' to daylight saving time and I moved the hour arm, it came loose and fell to remain permanently pointed at the number 6. The clocked chimed, the minute arm moved around, but the clock only told the correct time twice a day. Five weeks ago the batteries finally gave out. So, last Saturday the clock made another trip to the repair shop, which is why I can't show you a picture.

For the last year I've been waiting for the clock to stop working, but the batteries kept going and going. As does the connection through the ages. From the only grandparent I ever knew, to my parents. It doesn't matter that I don't remember the clock ever being on display. I know they used it during my brother's childhood and were glad to get it out of the attic. They liked seeing it when they visited my home. When I recently updated my will, I noted which of the next generation will inherit the clock. I think I'll print out a copy of this and tape it to the bottom.

Whatever family treasure you have that needs to keep going and going, make sure that all the stories about it are known and recorded. They are an important part of its value.

Marilyn