Central New Jersey Chapter 142
National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors (NAWCC)

December 2009

The October Chapter 142 meeting was held on October 4th as a joint meeting with Chapter 25. We want to thank the members of Chapter 25 for hosting the meeting/mart at the Somerville Elks lodge. We will return the favor next year.

The speaker at the joint Chapter 142/Chapter 25 meeting was Dan Nied who presented “The Hunley Watch – Time in History”.

Dan Nied is a leading expert in the preservation of watches that have been found at historical sites. His specialty is the handling of watches found underwater after spending many years in the corrosive environment. When the NAWCC was contacted to be on the team to study and preserve the Hunley watch, Dan Nied was the natural choice.

The Hunley was a Confederate submarine that sank off Charleston. The hand-cranked Hunley rammed a black powder charge into the Union blockade ship Housatonic on Feb. 17, 1864, becoming the first sub in history to sink an enemy warship. The Hunley never returned from the mission. It was located in 1995 by Clive Cussler's National Underwater Agency.

Archaeologists and conservators at the Warren Lasch Conservation Center removed the gold pocket watch from a sediment block. The watch was owned by Lt. George Dixon who was the commander of the 8 man crew. It was hoped that through the study of the watch more details can be obtained as to why the Hunley and her crew did not return from the mission.

Dan Nied showed photos of the progression of the study which ultimately revealed that the watch did not wind down but was stopped by some series of events. This fact by itself did not solve the mystery because there are many ways to interpret the findings that support the various theories as to the series of events. The results of the study bring us a step closer but the research still continues.

This is a very active time for Chapter 142. Our “Clock and Watch Repair” class started on October 14th and will run until December 9th. The class is open to the general public through Red Bank Regional High School for a class fee of $25 for the semester. Members of Chapter 142 volunteer their time offering hands-on work and discussion of individual clock and watch problems. Many thanks go to the Chapter 142 volunteers over the years that gave up their Wednesday nights during the fall and spring to devote to adult education. Members of the class are encouraged to bring in a clock or watch as a project for the class. Chapter 142 involvement in these classes have been going on for many years to foster the non-member’s interest in horology and get the NAWCC and Chapter 142 organization and activities known to the general public.

During this past summer, Paul Sperber took on the responsibility as Treasurer for Chapter 142. Paul also arranges for the use of the room at the “Church of the Nativity” at Red Bank where we met for the past year. I want to thank him for all of Chapter 142 for taking on the Treasurer Role and volunteer support.

The November meeting was on the 1st at the “Church of the Nativity”. Ed Roessler was our speaker and his presentation was titled “Overhaul of a 18th Century English 30 Hour Endless Rope Drive Tall Case Clock”.

Ed is a long time member of Chapter 142, and has worked on many difficult mechanical problems dealing with vintage/antique clocks and watches. His presentation was full of personal techniques for getting the job done that were of interest to both the experienced and beginner members of our Chapter alike.

If you have any suggestions for our meetings, please feel free to contact me.