Montgomery County sentinel., 1941-04-03
MONTGOMERY
Nl SIDELICHTS
By ELSIE WHITE HA1NEs

We had a rather queer feeling
when we looked at the clock and
saw that the time was just twen-
ty-fve minutes past seventeen-a
feeling of guilt that we should be
out so late-or were we just very
early? To add to our confusion
the Winter day was drawing to
an end-or, of course, it could
have been just before dawn-for
it was Sunday and there was not
the usual home-going crowd.
Months before we had been
interested when ]. L. Getzendan-
ner of Baltimore, a member of the
Ellicott City Times mechanical de-
partment, told of seeing this old
European clock in window
Somewhere on 7th Street in
Washington"
Inquiries to friends and rela-
tives in the city brought no in
formation-even Mr.. Haskins of
the Star failed to locate it for
us-so in the city on a round Of
calls, we drove slowly down 7th
Street looking into shop windows
until we came to 715-just be-
low G Street-"Kattelmann's"
said the sign over the door-and a
small placard beside the clock told
that it was of London make
over one hundred years old-and
that many of its kin were still
in use in parts of Europe.
In a crudely made wooden box
with the "works" uncovered--there
is nothing unusual about the clock
save it's face-the dial-on which
the hands point to "a at midnight
start at once-at noon it is just
IL o'clock-but then comes thir-
teen, fourteen, etc.-so it was just
5.25 in the afternoon when we
first saw it.
We stood with the man of the
house for quite a while gazing
into the window, and around at
the rather squalid surrounding
a few people stroling leisurely
along - mostly "cullud folks"
stopped to see what interested us
several mentioned that they had
never noticed before that it diff
fered from the other clocks which
adorned the window policeman
walking down the other side of
the street came over to look also.
Frankly the shop interested us
more than did the clock-we have
been back several times-and have
made the acquaintance of Mr..
Charles Kattelmann and his son
who was a lieutenant in the
Air Service during the World war
and bears the name of his
grandfather Carl Kattelmann
who bought the store shortly after
the Civil war.
Established by the Cruitts, from
whom the first Carl Kattelmann
purchased 1.-THE little shop was
then in the most fashionable shop
ping center of the town. Mr..
Charles Kattelmann tells of Pres
ident Garfield coming to the cob
bier shop across the street for his
boots and shoes-and how many
belle of old Washington wore
cameo brooch an engagement
ring-a wedding ring-from Kat
telmanns.
The tide of trade first turned to
F Street-now it is wandering up
Connecticut avenue-the little shop
has been left behind-but it's pa
irons and friends never forget it.
We find that many of our ac-
quaintances in Montgomery Coun-
ty still go there just as did their
grandparents and their parents.
The elder Mr.. Kattelmann told
US many things about some of our
childhood friends with whom we
have been out of touch-the
Barnsley families-the Stablers-
Farquhars in Olney--Sandy Spring
section-many Rockville people
still patronize the little shop way
up 7th Street.
The story of clocks is a very
fascinating one-Carl Kattelmann
can talk on the subject for hours
when clocks first came into use
just when the second hand was
added-yes there was day when
folks were contented to know only
the hour-when the grandfather
clock was first made-when metal
wheels supplanted the old wooden
ones-and of the first cloclmaker's
union-The Paris Guild of Clock
makers established in 1544-and
we thought unions were Of mod.