Primarily Petroliana Shop Talk Forums Shop Talk Petroliana Forums Showcase and Stories, Petroliana Century spinner clock!

With each passing year that marks the existence of my short time on this earth, I have come to truly appreciate those objects which have seemingly withstood the test of time and now grace the walls of a petroliana collection I never thought possible to amass. Hour upon hour and year after year spent chasing, and sometimes fortunately acquiring, true pieces of history with an incredible story to tell, if one just takes the time to listen. Take for example this amazing Century Tires Spinner Clock I have been patiently waiting for, to take it's place In my collection and to continue marking the passage of MY time on this earth. What story might it tell? Delivered to a fledgling automotive garage just 12 years in business in 1940, when the Century Tire Company, a few days earlier, had shipped this piece of advertising, in hopes to sell more of it's product within a garage, which just 12 years earlier was a livery for horses. Perhaps the most junior employee had the unfortunate and dreaded task of climbing the ladder to the height of 20' or so to place this clock upon a brick wall, where for the next 38 years it would not only provide the time, but more importantly, mark the passage of time on it's Daily watch. Spin for 38 years it did, as momentous cars from the big band era of the 40's rolled through the doors. Spin for 38 years it did as rock and roll blared from iconic cars of the 1950's that came and went. Spin for 38 years it did as muscle cars of the 1960's infiltrated the old garage. Spin for 38 years it did as the big boats of the 70's required work. Spin for 38 years it did, not only marking the history of the automobile, but marking the history of the employees that would give it a daily glance to mark their own life story. How many workers spent days of joy at the birth of a child while this clock marked their telling of those stories at work? How many workers spent days of sorrow underneath it's watch as they returned to work from the death of a loved one? Only it knows. One day in 1978, a worker climbs that ladder and takes down the old guard, relieving it of duty, as a new clock now shines brighter in it's place. Into a box this incredible piece of history goes, until 37 years later I open that box and wipe off the dirt and dust and bring it to a home less than a mile from where it began spinning 75 years earlier. With amazement I plug it in and see it struggle to move. Knowing it deserves a better fate, I send it off to a gifted man whom recognizes it's place in history and refurbishes it to run again. This morning, a proud man climbs a 6' ladder and places this incredible piece of history back onto a wall so that it can stand guard once again and mark the joys and sorrows and passages of time for the remainder of my life, until it then finds a new home to continue timing the passage of history. What an honor to have been blessed with this rare clock and to be able to look at it every day!

good story, that clock has seen a lot.. ...

Wonderfully told!!
Congrats on acquiring it!!
You said you've been waiting for it and that it was only a mile or so from your home. Had you been watching it up on that wall all those 38 years? And where has it been all the 37 years since it came down until now?

Steve.....I had been waiting for it to return from Mick, whom was refurbishing it. Never knew the clock was in the building a mile from my home. Had been hoping to get into the building for well over 10 years. Finally the owner allowed me in and in a second floor of the building, I found the clock sitting in a box, where it had been for the last 37 years. Owner told me it was taken down in 1978, two years after he started working there, and was taken upstairs and placed in that box til I opened it up a few months ago.Mick stated the clock motor was dated 1940.

Very nice...thanks for sharing the story. I enjoy others who look at our items the same way as I do, each has a story to tell.
Darin

And after all those years in storage it found it's way into the possession of the person that would appreciate it the most.

Really Great Story. That sometimes makes a person wonder what things in our collection has really been through. If Porcelain could only talk.

GENE

Kevin, Wonderful story, and well told! Some would call us corky or weird for collecting the stuff we do, and like you I truly believe this stuff talks to us if we just stop and listen. Thank you very much for sharing it with us, and getting us stop and listen..

A perfect ending!!! Or a perfect start to it's next chapter!!

Congratulations again!! And thanks for the story!!

That's great!! Hope the next person down the line who gets it, loves it as much as you do.

Ahh we have a Bard in our midst! Well said and obviously a well loved object. A very nice acquisition. It must be great to have someone like Mick who you can send your treasures to and have them come back as good as new.

just put a motor in my kendall spinner, not a easy clock too work on as you need 3 hands.. ...

Okay Kevin, show it to us spinning.

What a wonderfully told story that exemplifies these artifacts that we collect! I often sit in silence, staring at each of the objects in my own collection, and marveling at the different uses they had, and at the same time, all serving the same general purpose of helping to sell the products and services of the newly born automobile age! Its amazing to sit and dream of the life cycles these objects have seen, and to think of where they might go in the future, after I have passed?
Its stories like this that keep me truly interested in this hobby. Thank you so much for sharing this small piece of automotive history with us. It was truly a pleasure to read about it!

Great story with a new beginning !