Chapter 47 Marts will resume in September 2021.

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April 2021 Presidents Message,

Well it has been quite a year for all of us.  The COVID pandemic has been hard on all of us, some more than others.  Horology has been good COVID free activity for me and hopefully the rest of you too.  My shop has never looked so good.  I got some clocks fixed and tools made that would have been on list for many more years.  Even my garden had a low weed count never seen before.

But now with the vaccine here things are gradually coming back.  The NAWCC National Convention is planned for July 15-18.  I will be giving a talk on the Ferguson Clock at the British Horology meeting during the convention.

The South Milwaukee Knights of Columbus has started having meetings in the last couple of weeks and BINGO returns on April 5.  Masks are required but attendance has been high.  Possibly due to some pent up demand to meet and enjoy your hobby.

Chapter 47 has planned our first meeting back for September 12 at the South Milwaukee Knights of Columbus.   We have been given a donation from the family of Lewis Wienske of some tool boxes filled with tools.  Lewis was a watch and clock repairer and a former student at the MATC Horology class.  The items will be sold to members at the meeting.  Proceeds will go to the chapter.

I will be giving our educational talk in September on the Strasbourg Astronomical Clock, certainly one of the world’s greatest clocks.

A November meeting is planned for November 14, 2021.

You will be given credit on your dues for the missed meetings in 2020.  If you already paid dues for 2020 at $25/year you will be given a $20 credit towards 2021 and 2022 as we only had 1 out the 5 scheduled meetings.  The dues will be only $10 for 2021 as only 2 meetings are planned.

Hope to see you all there.  Masks will be required!!!

Thanks,
Craig

September and November Marts Canceled

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August 2020 Presidents Message,

COVID-19 has put a damper on Chapter 47 activities for 2020.  The March and May meetings were canceled and now I am sorry to let you know we have to cancel the September and November meetings as well.  Health is our number one concern and our average age puts us into the high risk category.

You will be given credit on your dues for the missed meetings in 2021.  If you already paid dues for 2020 at $25/year you will be given a $20 credit towards 2021 as we only had 1 out the 5 scheduled meetings.  Same for Gold Card,  $8 credit from the annual $10 gold card.

The Midwest Watch and Clock Mart was also cancelled at the VFW post in Antioch IL on August 22, 2020.  It is chapter 47 turn to run the event next year in 2021. 

I hope everyone is getting some horological projects done and staying healthy.  Keep in touch with other members to keep our hobbies going.  In the next couple of months the weather will be getting colder and we can get back to our workshops and clocks and watches.

Thanks,
Craig

The May 3rd Mart has been Canceled

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Chapter 47 Members and Friends,

I am sorry we need to cancel the Chapter 47 meeting scheduled for May 3 due to the nature of the COVID-19 virus.  We will be living with this for a while yet.  Hopefully things will allow us to hold our next scheduled meeting on September 13.  I will be informing everyone as that gets closer.  

We all may find that we have more time on our hands than normal.  If so the following link will take you to some interesting (and free) videos on horology.  Take a look I think you will find some of them interesting.

You can find them (along with a number of other NAWCC videos) on the NAWCC Vimeo website:   https://vimeo.com/nawcc

Once you are there click on More and Showcases.
On the page that opens find the Showcase named NAWCC Webinars and click on it. Find a Webinar and watch it!

Stay safe and healthy,
Craig 4/13/20

March 15th, 2020 Mart

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The January talk was given by Rich Newman our current NAWCC Chairman of the board. He showed many pictures of watch papers and explained their evolution. He spoke of their history and use. He also brought what might the oldest American watch paper along so we could see it directly. Very interesting talk and excellent close-up photography of watch papers and watches.
The March meeting educational talk will be given by Danno on early watch and clock tools.
The Midwest Watch and Clock Mart will be held at the VFW post in Antioch IL on August 22, 2020. It is Chapter 47’s turn to run the event. Please let me know if you can help out on the day of the event.

Further educational talks planned for 2020 are:
May – Mike Dempsey watch and clock making tools demonstration.
September – Bill Galinsky will give a talk and demonstration on Bone Carving of Clock Hands
November – Craig White Strasbourg Astronomical Clock .
Thank you,
Craig White

Our next Mart will Be January 5, 2020.

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Happy New Year to everybody. Start it out right by coming to the January Mart on the 5th, at the Knights of Columbus, 732 Badger Avenue, South Milwaukee.

January 2020 Presidents Message,
Bruce Shawkey presented “The Golden Age of the Swiss Wristwatch” based on his latest book (available at brucesvintagewatches.com) at the November meeting. Many Swiss wristwatch brands came out after World War 2 to meet the pent up demand. Some are well known brands and others are obscure. Bruce showed many beautiful vintage ads for these watches. Many of these watches are highly collectable, high quality, and available at reasonable prices. The talk was followed by enthusiastic questions and answers.

Further educational talks planned for 2020 are:
March – Danno Watch Tools
May – Mike Dempsey watch and clock making tools demonstration.
September – Craig White Strasbourg Astronomical Clock
November – ?????

Thanks,
Craig and Harry

NAWCC Board President Richard Newman will be giving the Educational Lecture, the subject will be on Watch Papers. For those of you who don’t know, Watch Papers were advertising papers that early watchmakers would put in the outer case of a pair cased watch, and you can learn a lot of valuable information from these little advertising pieces.

 

Also of interest to you horology buffs, The Antique Clock Repair class, formerly at WCTC, will be moving to Pewaukee for Spring 2020.

Thank you for your support last spring to keep the local clock repair
class going. Good news is that the Pewaukee Parks and Recreation
Department is taking over hosting the class.

During Spring 2020, the class meets 12 weeks beginning the first week of
February, the listed Fee is $230 to $240.  For more information, and class registration, go to pewaukee.activityreg.com or contact the Pewaukee Parks and Recreation
Department at (262) 691-7275.

November 10th Mart

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Presidents Message

The September educational talk was given by myself. Pictures and videos of clocks were shown from the Beyer Clock museum in Zurich Switzerland. I had the opportunity to visit this museum after the NAWCC travel chapter visit in 2018 to Amsterdam and a trip down the Rhine River.

The Beyer Clock and Watch Museum is housed in Zurich’s heart of the city, in the premises of the Beyer watch store. The exhibition comprises some 250 pieces from all fields of horology, which are examined in technical and scientific terms as well as from an art-history point of view. The museum is home to one of the most important horological collections in the world. It recounts the complete history of timekeeping from 1400 BC to the present day.

The exhibition comprises rare and precious exhibits such as shadow sticks, sun-dials, oil-lamp clocks, hourglasses, water clocks, grandfather clocks, table clocks, pocket watches, wristwatches and scientific instruments for timekeeping and marine navigation. Historical masterpieces that are rarely set running because of their fragile mechanics come to life in enthralling video clips. The exhibition is constantly being expanded and is widely regarded as one of the most important horological collections in the world.

Bruce Shawkey will give a talk titled Golden Age of the Swiss Wristwatch at the November meeting, from his latest book about all the wild and wacky brands that came out of the post-WWII consumer boom. Bruce delves into some of the most beautiful wristwatch advertisements to ever come out of Switzerland, lush Swiss ads that are incredible in their detail of actual watches being produced shortly after WWII. They represent a rich playground in which the collector of modest means may frolic. Bruce has been collecting vintage wristwatches since 1986. He began writing about watches in 1993 with his own newsletter, Vintage Wristwatch Report, and was the wristwatch columnist for the Watch & Clock Bulletin. He has written and published several books on vintage wristwatches.

Educational Talks Planned for 2020
January – Rich Newman (NAWCC Board Chair) – Watch Papers
March – Danno Osterud – Watch Tools
May – Mike Dempsey – Old tool demo
September – Craig White – Strasbourg Astronomical Clock
November – To Be Determined (please consider volunteering)

Thank you,
Craig White

September 22nd Mart

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The Mart is September 22nd at 9:00am.
At the The Knights of Columbus, 732 Badger Ave, South Milwaukee, WI 53172

The educational Lecture will be “The Beyer Clock Museum in Zurich, Switzerland” by Craig White

President’s Message
I hope everyone enjoyed our new venue in May. The sight was perfect for what we do in our meeting and I understand the coffee was good too. This summer they have repaved the parking lot so entrances should be easier for carts and dollies. The steps have been eliminated.
Thanks to Mike Dempsey for his presentation. This lecture dealt with designing and reproducing clock parts which are not available to purchase. The lecture covered putting a plan together to help succeed in making these parts, with common everyday clock repair tools. There were some great tips for repairers. Methods for making parts were shown along with developing critical thinking steps in developing a plan to make the parts.
Mike stressed that thought must be given on how to make parts. Everyone has different tools and mechanical abilities. Your plan for making the parts must be well thought through to make a successful part. Remember today we many times have better tools and equipment that the original clock maker had 200 years ago. Yet the clock was somehow made 200 years ago.
The September educational talk will be given by Craig White. The subject is the Beyer Clock museum in Zurich Switzerland. I had the opportunity to visit this museum after the NAWCC travel chapter visit in 2018 to Amsterdam and a trip down the Rhine River.
The Beyer Clock and Watch Museum is housed in Zurich’s heart of the city, in the premises of the Beyer watch store. The exhibition comprises some 250 pieces from all fields of chronology, which are examined in technical and scientific terms as well as from an art history point of view. The museum is home to one of the most important horological collections in the world. It recounts the complete history of timekeeping from 1400 BC to the present day. The exhibition comprises rare and precious exhibits such as shadow sticks, sundials, oil-lamp clocks, hourglasses, water clocks, grandfather clocks, table clocks, pocket watches, wrist-watches and scientific instruments for timekeeping and marine navigation. Historical masterpieces that are rarely set running because of their fragile mechanics come to life in enthralling video clips. The exhibition is constantly being expanded and is widely regarded as one of the most important horological collections in the world. Photos and video clips will be shown describing the clocks and their workings.

Educational presentations for balance of 2019 are:
September – Beyer Clock Museum, by Craig White
November – Golden Age of the Swiss Wristwatch, by Bruce Shawkey
We still have a request for educational talk on veneering clock cases. If anyone knows someone who would be willing to present please contact Harry Schultz.
Thank you,
Craig White

2019 Midwest Watch and Clock Mart

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2019 Midwest Watch and Clock Mart
Saturday, August 17, 2019
It’s Time
For a One Day Mart!
The 2019 Midwest Watch and Clock Mart
Saturday, August 17, 2019
9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
In Antioch, Illinois
There is no Pre-registration and no admission fee for NAWCC Members.
Chapters 3, 47 and 171 will be hosting the event
and extend their invitation to you to attend!

It will be held at VFW Post 4551 at 75 North Ave. Antioch, IL. 60002

Admission:
NAWCC Members: No Charge
Non-Members: $5
Table (for NAWCC Members only): $10
Mart Setup: 8:30 a.m.
Mart Open: 9:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Directions: From I94: Exit Rosecrans (Il 173) West, to Deep Lake Rd
(Walmart), North to North Ave, & West (left) to VFW Post 4551.
From Downtown Antioch: North from downtown on Il Rt 83, to North Ave,
East to VFW post 4551

Please click on the link below to the flyer for details.

Directions to the New Meeting Location- Starting May 5th

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The new meeting location is:
The Knights of Columbus
732 Badger Ave.
South Milwaukee, WI 53172

From either direction on Interstate 94 take the College Ave exit (Exit 319) and go East for 3.8 Miles.
Turn Right (South) on Chicago/Packard Ave. Then take the first Left (East) on to Badger Ave, go 500 feet and the Knights of Columbus building and parking lot will be on your left.

Knights of Columbus
732 Badger Ave
South Milwaukee

If you reach Lake Drive, you’ve gone a couple of blocks to far. Go South and then turn on Badger Ave.