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. "Vintage Reading® Stories Heard Over the Back Fence"
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Grandma's Great Floor Clock
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Adapted and Updated from a 1909 Short Story
By Rita and Victor Buday
APRIL 2007 :: 2007 Buday Books / Vintage Reading®
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Grandma was going to visit her niece next week. While she was away, she asked her schoolboy-grandson Henry to look after the house, taking extra special care for her Great Floor Clock in the front hall. She didn't know exactly when it was made; it came to her when her Great-Grandma passed away in 1905--so it had to be at least 100 years old anyway.
For three days everything went fine The Great Floor Clock's shiny brass pendulum swung back and forth, back and forth, making a loud tick...tick...tick.
Thursday morning the clock was silent. Its pendulum was lifeless in the case. Henry gave it a poke. It swayed to and fro several times before it quit.
~ ~ ~ "Probably needs some oil."
Henry opened the plate glass door of the black walnut case. He blew into the works--here and there--to dislodge any dust; put a drop of oil here, a drop there and there; cleaned the white porcelain dial; washed the plate glass in the door, and swung the pendulum to start it going.
It went tick...tick...tic...ti...t... Then it was quiet.
No time to tinker with it now--he was late for school already--and Thursday afternoons he stayed after school to practice for the Senior Play!
Friday morning he came to Grandma's house early; he had to get that clock going! He blew hard into the works several times; liberally sloshed oil all around; cleaned the dial face and plate glass in the door again. For good measure, he wiped its case with lemon oil, and gave the pendulum a nasty shove. It ticked a few times...and...gradually...stopped.
Now, Henry was frantic. That clock was Grandma's pride and joy... she was coming home tomorrow! The clock ran fine when she left. He couldn't get it to run now. For sure she would say he must have done something to it.
He put the house key in her bird feeder, 'phoned Fenton's Watchmaking & Jewelry Store, and pleaded for an emergency repair.
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Saturday morning Henry couldn't find the key in her bird feeder! He shook the door knob and pounded the door. Then he heard...tick...tick...tick--the clock was running!
Quick--over to Fenton's.
"Thank you for fixing it Mr. Fenton. What did I do to it? How much do I owe you--I have some money from delivering newspapers..."
"You don't owe me anything, Henry. Grandma has me clean and oil that clock twice a year, so I didn't see how anything much could be wrong with it. I cleaned up oil dripping from the works, pulled up the weights, and started its pendulum swinging. It'll run fine for a week until the weights have to be pulled up again. They work different from battery-operated clocks we have today. These old-timers have to be wound by pulling up the weights when they need it.
"Here's the key you left in the bird feeder. My regards to Grandma."
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