Grandma’s Clock *
Grandma’s
clock sat on our fireplace mantle all the years of my childhood...and
some of the adult years.
We could always calibrate it with the
morning, noon and “quitting time” whistles of the Franklin Crate
&
Basket Company mill a few miles away in Micanopy. **.
She
religiously wound it weekly, the time and chime springs taking
several turns each. As she aged, he
arthritic plagued hands made the
task increasingly difficult. I remember once she said to my mother in
an
exasperated voice, “Gladys it took 37 times to wind that clock”!
She, of course,
was counting each couple
of ratchet clicks to a turn.
Grandma
maintained the old clock with kerosene and a chicken tail feather. If
it was giving problems she
would dip the feather in kerosene and
swish it in the clock mechanism. Don’t laugh...it worked for
decades
and the clock will still run!
This treasured heirloom, now in retirement like me, resides on my mantle.
*
* More anecdotes relating to Grandma Or Franklin Crates may be viewed at:
|
|