Lower coast gazette., 1909-03-13
The Dollar Watch.

Seventy years ago the yankee clock was brought out. The
wheels were generally made Of wood as brass was too expensive
and the clocks were carried from house to house by the clock ped
oilers Just as sewing machines now are with this difference that the
clock peddler had to deal with an unwilling public while the sewing
machine man has willing buyers if they had the funds or fair pros
poets of getting them.
Two generations ago sunrise and sunset marked the be-
ginning and the end of ordidary work and noon could be we'll
guessed at by the sun in the south, and what more was needed.
Yet the peddlers INDUCED the good women of the country to- try a
clock. They were shown how to wind it up and how to tell the
time by it and thus day by day become more and more use to it.
The daily meals were prepared at the proper tin1e Of day, by the
clock; the children were sent to school when the clock indicated
the proper time and finally the whole domestic life centered around
or was guided by the clock. ".-
Then the clock peddler appeared upon the scene scene and with
modest mein inquired about the clock he left, spoke of the growing
demand for them, OF the people wanting more clocks than he could
supply, when the good housewife fearing: that the supply would
run short would hastily close the dealt the clock. And 80 the
Yankee became essential to the h%ousekeeper these few decades
ago. .., &c. .
While we all love to hear the good old church bell, and espaci-
ally on Sundays and holidays calling the faithful to church service
we forget that tits a relic of the'days when there were no clocks
the days when all hands were called to duty by bell, horn or bugle.
Civilization has made many advances since then but the bell
remains and does its joyful or sad. duties" as tie occasion may de-
mand. 49,. ~ ~. .~;a !..
But the inquiry will come as to what all this has to do with the
dollar watch. The dollar watch is the direct descendent of the
Yankee clock: The %cheapenng Of clocks naturally brought about
the cheapering Of watches. and continuous efforts WIRE :tGuns fhNade
o'th a. . MVentofs conceived the IDEA OF making
watches with interchangeable parts. The famous Waltham watch
was one of the first and the Waterbury watch one Of the last Of
that epoch. The interchangeable part idea was at work.. however.
and finally the lngersolls brought out the dollar watch and they
are now known all over this country and in Europe and in fact
everywhere else. The dollar watch was just as much of an epoch
maker as the first cheap clocks. They have come into use every.
where. '"r3 4t -.
r. The Ingersons set the pace but they have brought out active
competitors and now there are many dollar watches: Some Of
them have lost all appearance of little clock or of a tin CUP, and
are quite stylish in appearance and scarcely dishngushahlc on
casual observation from the better|grades OF silver watches, Many
OF tlem keep good tme ana WIZ i ia{t tor years and wnen they.
won't run any longer they, can be thrown away and a new one rt
for a donor. All hail then to the. dollar watch, Time is. money.
Let us save our time as well as our money and this we can d. with
the dollar watch; ~ = . .:aHH ~: @r'.'i "|-y: