Sometimes it seems like time keeps us, doesn’t it? Rather than an occasional glance at a wristwatch or a quick reading of where the sun is in the sky, we spend our entire day tracking the time, making sure we can meet our obligations. But how do we all stay on the same schedule? Who makes sure clocks are in sync? What is their role in navigation and war? How have clocks and timekeeping changed in the last 100 years?
A new exhibit at the Union County Museum attempts to shed some light on the subject, thanks to Merle Miller, a local watchmaker and member of the museum board of directors. Merle has drawn from his own collection, as well as the museum’s, to create the exhibit.
Merle was born December 3,1930, at Burns, Oregon, and raised on a ranch at Drewsey, in the Burns area. He graduated from Crane High School in 1949, and from the Oregon Institute of Technology in 1951, with a degree in watchmaking. He passed the Oregon State Examination as a Watchmaker. At that time, a license was required to repair watches in the State of Oregon, but that law no longer exists. Merle spent two years in the U.S. Air Force during the Korean War as a Watchmaker. Following his service, he took the Watchmakers Exam from the National Horological Institute of America and became a Certified Master Watchmaker. After working for 16 years as a watchmaker in Burns and La Grande, he worked for 22 years with the Oregon State Parks and Recreation before retiring.
The Watchmaker’s display consists of the watchmaker’s bench and lathe that was Harold Laurence’s of Laurence’s Jewelry Store in La Grande. The bench is listed as an item in the 1901 Sears Catalog. The lathe is run by using your foot for power. A list of La Grande jewelry stores and memorabilia are part of the display.
Clocks in the exhibit that were donated to the museum include a wall clock from 1760 with wooden clock works; an 1820 wall clock; and several other clocks from the museum’s collection. Also included are a Grandmother’s clock, donated by Carol Mulvany, and a “coupon clock,” donated by Louise Weeks. In the late nineteenth century, magazines had coupons in them and with enough saved, you could redeem the coupons for a clock.
Among the clocks and Watchmaker’s tools on loan from Merle’s collection are:
- An Atmos Clock that runs on atmospheric pressure
- A schoolhouse clock
- An Iron case clock
- The Birnie’s Jewelry Store clock
- Some tools from J. H. Peare’s store, a former business in La Grande, established in 1901.
Merle married Patricia Seely in 1951. The couple has 4 children, living in Prineville, Drewsey, Elgin and La Grande. His hobbies include genealogy, restoring clocks and old furniture, hunting, camping, and being with his family. Merle and Pat reside in La Grande and have served on the museum board of directors and as docents for many years.
AN INTERVIEW WITH MERLE MILLER
Why was it considered necessary to have a license to repair watches? The main reason was because railroad companies required time accurate to within a few seconds for the watches of the people who ran the trains. Even seconds of difference could be catastrophic.
Stores and watch repairmen had to be approved by the railroads. Each store had clocks that were set electronically every hour by Western Union. In order to pass the Oregon State Exam you had to be an accurate repairman.
What changed? Why is it no longer important to have a license? Isn’t the influence of accurate time more important than ever? The main reason for the requirement of earning a watchmaker’s license was because the railroad’s watches had to meet certain standards, which are no longer required. Department stores (like Walmart) weren’t licensed and were therefore unable to sell watches, repair them or change the batteries. They pushed the government to not require licensing, so the state dropped the requirement. There are few watch repairmen anymore, as it is less expensive to buy a cheap watch and when it quits, throw it away and buy a new one. Also, most people have accurate time on their phones, from the National Bureau of Standards in Denver, Colorado.
What was the role of a watchmaker during the Korean War and other conflicts? Merle was in the 8th Air Force, 27th Fighter Escort Wing as a watchmaker. “My job was to repair the clocks in the airplanes and the watches for the pilots and officers,” he said. This allowed them to accurately plan and carryout military operations.
What were your responsibilities? How did your work influence the work of the troops? “I was a NCOIC – Non-Commissioned Officer in Charge – of the Watch Repair Department, with four repairmen working for me. A lot of our repair work came from Korea and all over the World for the Air Force. Our job was to repair and keep everyone and the aircraft on accurate time,” Merle explained.
Why do you love clocks and time keeping? “I enjoy working on a clock just to see it run again. Most old clocks are repairable, and it is exciting to me to see them run again and keep time. I also enjoy finding the unusual clock, making it run again and keep accurate time.
“The thing that really got me started doing watch and clock repair was my great-grandfather’s clock,” Merle explains. “He came to Oregon over the Oregon Trail in 1853.
“The clock is listed in the 1870 Seth Thomas clock catalog and the story is that he ordered it and it was shipped around the Horn to Portland where he picked it up. The clock was stored in the attic at the ranch at Drewsey, the ranch was sold in the late 1940s and the clock went on a wagon headed for the burn pile. My uncle saw it and knew I liked clocks, so he rescued it for me. That was in 1948.
“Well, the old clock was in sad shape, missing parts and needing a lot of repair. I always enjoyed repairing things so after I graduated from High School, I decided to go to school at OTI (now OIT) and learn watch repair. In my second year at the school the instructor let me repair the old clock. That was over 70 years ago, and it sits above my fireplace still happily running.”
What is particularly significant about a couple of the clocks you have in the exhibit, as well as a couple of the tools? "One of the clocks goes back to the 1700s and has wooden works including the wheels. The picture on the front of the clock is a reverse painting (painted on the back side of the glass). Two of the clocks are coupon clocks. In the late nineteenth century, magazines had coupons in them and with enough saved, you could redeem the coupons for a clock. One of the tools is from Peare's Store, a business in La Grande, established in 1901. It a tool to make holes in mainsprings."
Are you fascinated with time and timekeeping? Here is a website that could satiate your appetite. https://bespokeunit.com/watches/history/