Minutes of NAWCC Chapter 21 Meeting January 25, 2021

This second meeting In January was called to order by President Ken Reindel at approximately 7:08 P.M. Our regular December meeting was moved to January 4, 2021, resulting in two meetings during the first month of the year.

Ken opened the session with a brief update on the status of COVID-19. While Colorado is experiencing better trend lines, the slow vaccine rollout and new strains of the virus still restrict us from in-person meetings until later in the year.

Ken welcomed visitors from other Chapters, notably Chapters 15, 124 and 139. A silver lining to the pandemic is the opportunity to share meetings with other members. Welcome all! Thirty-two people were in attendance.

Dave Fornof reported on the Regional meeting planned in conjunction with the Strawberry Days Antique Show on the Boulder County Fairgrounds in May. The tentative dates for the May 14-16 will depend on the status of the pandemic. June is also an alternative date for a Regional expo. We await the final decision by fairground administrators. Strawberry Days draws 3000 people to this antique show. Our Regional gathering will be housed in a building adjacent and convenient to foot traffic, making an added visit for people interested in clocks an easily added attraction. More information will be available in the coming months.

Tim Orr shared new information about the national office’s member recognition awards program. https://www.nawcc.org/about/member-recognition-awards/. Significant improvements incorporating better navigation tools have been rolled out. We are encouraged to visit the page, learn more about the nomination process and bring names forward. The award recognizes individuals for contributions to horological education and advancement. You will also want to check out the message board re-named the “Forums.” To access Forums, go to the “Events” tab and select from the pulldown menu. https://mb.nawcc.org/categories/clocks.296/

Paul Wegener, Chapter 21’s librarian, reviewed this month’s book selection, “The Book of 19th Century American Clocks” by H.G. Harris, 1981, Emerson Books. Inc.

Show and Tell: Terry Jones shared a flip-clock he has acquired. Jim Linz was mentioned as a book author and excellent reference on numerous Telechron models, including ship’s bells clocks discussed in the evening’s presentation.

The new movie “Radium Girls” on Netflix was referenced. It is a story about the turn of the century clock manufacturing and radiation exposure to workers painting radium on clock dials, encouraged to lick the radium-laced paint to sharpen brushes. It tells the story of how one of the Radium Girls took it upon herself to obtain restitution for other afflicted girls, going against the giant American Radium Corporation. It was a landmark case for worker safety throughout industry. One interesting point made was “If you put a Geiger counter over the grave of a Radium Girl, it will click for over 1000 years–pretty frightening. Lots of horological sightings in the movie.

Ken Reindel presented: “Telechron Ships Bell Movement Restoration.” The presentation is archived and available on the Chapter’s YouTube link. Like and subscribe to the channel. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVyWi6kN2AM&t=5s

Meeting adjourned at 9:15 P.M. David Gies, Secretary.

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