Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1897-10-28
THE CLOCK 1yINDER.
A NEW YORK MAN WHO MAKES Ills
 LIVING AT THIS CALLING.

whims of Some of His Patrons Whose
 Timepieces He Looks After--Afgstery of
 the Clock That Would Rot Go on Friday.
 Twenty Clocks In One House.
 Glccz winding seems @ simple enough task to be performed by owners for their respective timepieces. but there are many people who find it sufficiently burdensome to make them delegate it to some one else. Hence has arisen the profession of clock winder, which as yet claims probably fewer members than any other calling ill the city. For some years jewellers have attended to the repairing of clookswhich they sold and have even looked after the winding where this was especially desired, but they never tried to obtain this kind of business, and it was done merely as an accommodation to their customers. Now there is at least one man in New York there may be more, though not many whose only occupation is the wind- ing, regulating and occasional cleaning of clocks for numerous families. He makes tlstily rounds so as to cover his entire route, but he never visits the same house oftener than once $ week On that day his coming is expected, and he has free access to all the rooms, whether they are occupied at the time or not Through the various halls and apartments he goes, from the top of the house to the bottom, winding the clocks and giving a touch here and there to a regulator where he finds it necessary. .K-sf course lie does not pay any attention 10 the little nickel alarm clocks, which run fer only one day. His care, being given weekly, is spent upon the eight day clocks of more expensive design and workmanship.
 The clock winder whom The Tribune reporter saw had several stories to tell about the pursuit of his occupation. Some people are very particular about the striking of their clocks, he said. ss4hey will ask me if l can t arrange to have all the timopieces in the house strike together. Now, as a general thing. that is an impossibility. and I'll tell you why Some clocks are arranged to strike just half a minute before the hour, some for q quarter of minute before, sonle for a few seconds after the hour and 90 on. You see if fixed them so that they would strike together they would not be exactly together in point of actual time, which is more important. h ono house on my list the family owns 20 clocks. Of these suppose or G. perhaps more-strike i'll unison, and the others all within a minute. My or ders in this house are to have all the clocks except one at precisely theseof- rect time. This odd one is the timepieee i'll the bedroom of the mistress of the house. and she wishes it kept three minutes fast l think that is the only instance among my customers of any. body who wanls clock perpetually fast, aud l am very certain there is no one who asks mo to keep one slow.
 .s When l undertake the care of the clocks in a house, nobody else is allow ed to touch them, and the servants ill particular have orders never to move CT interfere with them in any way. Some times this Is done accidentally, and it is hard to find out how the clock has been injured A few months ago lost one of my best houses because there was one clock which | could not seem to put in proper order. I would take it away, clean it thoroughly and look to every smallest part of the mechanism Apparently 1t made no difference. The clock positively refused to run right Finally gave il up, and that family had a mighty poor opinion of my abil. ities as clock repairer.
 Some weeks after that I came across q clock i'll another house which acted in exactly the same way. l was puzzled for awhile. Finally 1 noticed that it al- ways stopped on Fridays That was queerer than ever, until by chance 1 hit upon the solution of the mystery. The servant, while dusting the room on that day, was ill the habit of passing her cloth along the mantle under the clock. This would have made no difference with many timepieees, but this one had an open bottom, through which the tip of the pendulum projected. The dusting cloth just touched this enough to stop it. The girl did not know what she had done, and thus the family were mysti- fled anew each week by finding that the clock would not go on Friday.
 .'I clean all my clocks regularly once ill two years. and in that way keep them ill proper running order Most people think that it is just as we'll to let q clock run until it stops, fairly clogged up with dirt but that isn't so. By that time 1t may be so bad that it will be impossible ever to make it run as aceu- rately as it did before.
 T am usually paid by the month to take entire charge of all the clocks ill q house, 1t being understood that I mako weekly visits Sometimes, though, I am employed by the year. In the casa of the house ! WAS teiiiii;ig you Of, where they have 20 clocks, they pay me $100 annually for the vorls. It takes good deal of my time ill the course of 12