The February 4^th  Chapter 8 meeting was back at the Sturbridge Host Hotel in Sturbridge , MA . About 180 members and guests participated in a busy mart, three lectures,and the bi-annual election of officers and directors. The business meeting was conducted by outgoing president, Burt Kassap, during the overall meeting.

The first program, given by Chapter 8 member, Ron Price, "Identifying Waltham Model 57 Pocket Watch Movements By Their Characteristics" was really a recap of the highlights of an NAWCC monograph published by Ron last year (Origins of the Waltham Model 57). The Model 57 was the first successful industrial production of watches with machinery. Production began in 1857 and continued until 1879. Ron used overhead projections taken from his book to point out differences and key points to obtain this data. Ron also established a novel first for Chapter 8 speakers. His lecture and additional material can all be found on www.pricelessads.com/m57/.

Our second program, "The Clocks of Newport" given by John Rives, was a smorgasbord of slides that showcased many of the fabulous and unusual clocks that are in the mansions of Newport RI. Most of these opulent houses are now museums open to the public. Along with clocks at the Preservation Society of Newport, the talk was a show and tell of these clocks by slides. John presented not only the clock exteriors but the movement features under the hood or inside the clock cases. A relative newcomer to the clock repair business, John is a walking and talking endorsement of the NAWCC School of Horology. He took all the clock courses at Columbia, starting in 2000 and, this former millwright, has now established himself in the Newport area as well as New England region. His Worcester, MA located business is known as "The Clockman."

A short business meeting was conducted by outgoing president, Burt Kassap, during lunch.. New Officers for the next two years are: President Larry Chelmow; 1st VP Peter Nunes; 2nd VP Harold Lincoln; Treasurer, Wayne Paskerian; and Secretary, Lester Tyrala. Burt Kassap will serve as Past President. Three directors were elected for four years: Steve Chatlas, Joe Brown, and Dave Deutermann. Also, and for the first time, a membership committee was created with Steve Chatlas as the lead person.

Our luncheon speaker was Dick Husher, the 1980 author of "A Study of Simon Willard's Clocks."

Dick's slide lecture sought to demonstrate that Willard's commercially most successful wall-hanging clock designs evolved from adaptations of popular features found in contemporary European clock designs of that time. These designs, when combined with his own innovations such as the short weight drop, produced the unique case designs of his most successful wall and shelf clocks. The English bracket clock was cited as a probable source of the kidney-shaped door frame found on his Grafton wall clocks, while the bracket portion of the case was used as a concealed weight drop space. Likewise, European spring-powered clocks probably provided inspiration for the much smaller, simpler movement found in the Grafton models. The most famous American clock, the banjo clock, may have been inspired by the European wheel barometer case, as evidenced by their common 29-inch vertical dimension. Lastly, the short-lived Lighthouse clock, with its distinctive glass bell jar top, may have been derived from the popular skeleton clocks of that time.

The Silent Auction table (8: 30 to 10:15) - enables you to sell a few items without the need for a table:

Fill out a slip at the table with your minimum price you will accept for the item. Members can then write in their bids during the course of the auction.

The cost to you as a seller is only $3.00 PER ITEM. The charge is payable in advance and applies whether item sells or not (multiple items for one bid count as one item).

AND
At at the auction table you can buy a ticket for the 50-50 raffle.

Workshop Topics:
If you would like to do a workshop presentation or have suggestions for future topics/presenters, please contact Peter Nunes. 401-789-6791 or by email: 

Chapter Contacts:
If you any of you have a question or wish to contact someone in the chapter, get in touch with any of these people and they will get your message to the right person if they cannot help you.

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