(upbeat intro music) - Illinois Stories is brought to you by The Corporation For Public Broadcasting, Illinois Arts Council Agency and by the support of Viewers Like You.

Thank you.

(music continues) - Hello, welcome to Illinois Stories.

I'm Mark McDonald in Springfield on the West Side of town on a quiet tree-lined street.

Many of the houses in this neighborhood have chairs to rock on and flowers on the porch.

Then you get to this house and you say, I wonder what a grandfather clock is doing on the porch?

Let's find out.

Well that was just one of about 350 clocks that we're going to see today.

(laughs) Dick Romer, how are you?

- How are you doing Mark-- - Thanks for inviting us.

- You're welcome, you're welcome.

- I heard about you from some mutual friends and they said, you know Dick Romer, don't you?

I said no, I mean I've heard the name, but what about him?

He says, "Well, I think you'd be astounded at his clock collection."

And I thought, well, you know, I've done collectors before and I'm pretty hard to astound.

But I'm pretty astounded at your clock collection!

(laughter) - Well, I've been doing about 40 years, so-- - Is that right?

And I mentioned 350 clocks.

That's a pretty close-- - That's pretty close, right.

- You also make clocks clocks.

- Yes, I do.

- And we'll get to see some of those as well.

We're in your front hall of the house here.

And I asked you, what about in the front hall?

You got a lot of clocks, but are there any here that are kind of special?

- Yeah these two right here are pretty special.

They're Gazo clocks.

They came from San Diego, California.

The company was owned by John Gazo and his wife.

And they're special because of the carving.

For me anyway, they're special.

He had-- He hired the-- Hispanics from Mexico to do the all the hand-carving.

- [Mark] It's intricate.

- [Dick] Oh, it's very intricate.

And then what's also intricate is the dial and the porcelain numbers.

And the other thing that sets this clock apart is the bob on the pendulum.

That's kind of his own making which I really think it's neat too.

- [Mark] He's not making clocks anymore?

- [Dick] No, no, no.

He's out of business.

He was in business from about 72 to 79.

And this is kind of a small, just a smaller replica of this one with the same thing.

porcelain dial and all that kind of thing.

- [Mark] Beautiful work, beautiful work.

- [Dick] It really is.

- [Mark] And many of your 350 clocks are huge items like this.

- [Dick] I think I got about 45 grandfather clocks.

- (laughs) You know, we were here at the turn of the hour and it's a good thing we weren't recording then because we couldn't hear ourselves.

(laughter) Let's go in there.

- [Dick] Okay.

- Let's see some more.

In every room as you can see-- Now the cuckoo clocks are starting to go.

- [Dick] Yeah.

Well-- - [Mark] Every room-- - [Dick] There's a story about the cockoo clocks.

I don't care what the time says on them.

I never set them because we just like to hear the noise.

- [Mark] Because there's always one going off.

- [Dick] There's always one going off!

(Mark laughs) - [Mark] Okay.

(door squeaks) Okay.

Now this is your-- you know, this room would be really big if you didn't have all the clocks.

- If we didn't have all the clocks, yeah, it really would.

- Let's start over here, take us to this one.

- This is special to me because a friend of mine made this clock.

It's all solid walnut.

What is special about it-- I take a magazine called The Mart in the National Association of Clock Collectors.

Anyway, Fontaine's Auction House in Massachusets sold this very clock, except it's a real one, for $254,000.

- [Mark] Oh my goodness.

So this is a replica?

- This is a replica, right.

- And you know the guy that made this?

- I know the guy that made that and he's just-- We were both woodworkers.

So that's how we kinda got to know each other.

- That's a piece of work.

And you're going to point out to us the clocks that you made too, right?

- Right, Yes.

- [Mark] Well, let's work our way down.

- Okay.

These two right here are, they were made in 18-- 1842 and they're called the-- the pictures, they're called tablets.

And these are double tablets with a dial.

And I'll just only show you this on one clock.

But if you open this, you can see the directions.

It tells all about the clock.

The company that made it, and that kind of makes it more valuable.

- [Mark] I bet for a collector, they would want to have that, wouldn't they?

- Yeah, they want that on there.

- [Mark] Do you know what country that comes from?

- That was made in Bristol, Connecticut.

- Oh, Connecticut.

- Yeah, Yeah.

These two are pretty special to me as well.

These were made in 1720.

And-- - [Mark] Made in The States?

- Yeah-- no, these are English Hall clocks.

They were made in England.

(stammers) I just want to show you this one.

See, this top comes off.

That's all hand-painted.

But 1720, that baby's been around a while.

- [Mark] Everything that you have up here.

Now you have a shop full of clocks, but everything you have here is operating, right?

- Yes, pretty much.

- And they keep pretty good time?

- Pretty good time.

Not bad.

Right?

This is a wonderful clock here.

I want you to hear the tone on it.

- [Mark] Beautiful, look at that gold.

- This is Elliot of London.

Also European clock.

(clock bells chime) Got a beautiful dial on it.

- Oh it does.

- Nine tubes.

- [Mark] That's a sweet sound.

Yeah.

- Another one.

Another five tube clock from Grand Rapids, Michigan.

And then these two clocks are pretty-- are actually all three of them are pretty special.

But the one on the wall that was made in 1860-- - [Mark] The one on the left?

- [Dick] Yes, 1865.

And then the other one was made in 1780.

(clock plays tune) - [Mark] And what, are those products of where?

The U.S.?

- [Dick] All of these are English Hall clocks.

- [Mark] English Hall clocks.

- [Dick] Yeah.

Now this is contemporary clock made.

This was made in the Black Forest, Germany.

And it's got a beautiful bob.

You probably can't see that and pick it up, but it's got all etching in it and so forth.

- [Mark] So now, I would call that a pendant.

But in clock guys, they know that's a bob.

- [Dick] Yes.

- [Mark] All right.

- [Dick] The bob that makes up the pendulum.

The rod and the bob.

That's a Howard Miller which has got beautiful sound to it as well That's 1992.

- That's a good name.

I mean, people have heard that.

That's an American- - [Dick] American clock, right.

- [Mark] These things are massive.

How do you move them around?

- [Dick] I do it on a cart.

Just a two wheel cart.

- [Mark] But I mean, do you have a truck?

- [Dick] Well, I had a truck.

Had a van that I moved most of them in.

And I can get them in there.

I've been to Iowa.

Marshaltown, Iowa was where I purchased a lot of them in an auction.

They have an auction twice a year.

And they'll have as many as 2000 clocks for sale in two days.

- But are you still buying?

- No.

(laughs) - I mean, you have nowhere to put them, right?

- Well, if it's a good deal, I might buy it.

(laughter) My wife doesn't want me to, but I probably would anyway.

(laughter) - Oh man.

You know, you're kind of like these Tragno Tractor collectors.

They got 20 acres loaded with tractors and they can't resist going and buying another.

- It's a sickness.

(laughter) It really is.

(laughs) But there is a couple of really nice clocks back there too.

I made three of those.

- Can we take a look at those?

- Sure, sure.

Now, I made- I made this.

This is kind of like a Jewelers Regulators.

That's what they call it.

(clock bells chime) - [Mark] It's just ringing now, isn't it?

- Yeah.

It's every 15 minutes.

And then this is a beautiful clock here.

This also came from the gentleman that I told you, that made the (mumbles) clock out in the other room.

This weighs about 20 pounds.

- [Mark] Just the bob?

- The bob and the pendulum.

But the thing that makes this clock really neat is the movement was handmade.

It's all brass gears.

The thing was made by a person by the name of Bill Williams out in Tucson, Arizona.

And it was able to get that.

- And when you say made it, did you make this one too?

- No, I didn't make this one.

Actually there's a light in there, you see the bob?

- But let's go back to the one you made over here, over your right shoulder.

Now, when you say make a clock, you mean you made the casing-- - I made the casing And bought the works and pendulum and the weights.

- [Mark] And most of the people that make clocks, they buy the works, right?

- Right, right, exactly.

- [Mark] And the works, is there a place in the world where they make the best works?

The best motion movement?

- Their made by different companies.

Keneger makes one.

There's a lot of different companies that make them.

I deal with a guy in Iowa.

It's called Butterworth Clock Company.

He has any kind of movements you want.

And he's very reasonable, so that's where I get mine.

(clocks ring) - [Mark] There's always something going on, isn't there?

(laughs) At one o'clock he only does has one in him.

- Yeah, you've got-- - Wait till he goes to two o'clock - He'll have two in him there.

(clock bells chime) (laughter) - [Mark] That's cute.

(mumbles) Anytime of the day, there's always something going on.

Always some kind of cuckoo going on.

- There's three dancers on those three clocks there.

- That's really cute.

That is really cute.

Okay, then in the front hall, then you've got another room full of clocks!

My God.

- Yeah.

These are pretty special.

This I just had this clock about six, seven months.

Something like that.

But that's about 1810 since this clock was made.

Lord Nelson.

- [Mark] So that's an English Wall clock too?

- Yes.

That's an English wall clock too.

Very nice, I really like that clock.

This is a Gustav Becker and this clock is about 125, 30 years old.

Very nice, keeps pretty good time.

It's not too bad.

- [Mark] Is that a German clock?

- That's a German clock, right.

And then, this clock right here, it's called an Efron Downs and the weight's come down the sides here.

And it's got really nice markings on the inside.

And all of the works are wooden.

They're all wood gear and everything.

- [Mark] And look at that bob, that's kind of intricate too.

- This and the bob and escape were the only pieces of metal in that.

- [Mark] I'll be darned.

Wooden works, huh.

- This clock here, I'm pretty proud of this because I made the case for this clock.

And of course it tells the time and the day of the week.

And it's got the day, I'm sorry, the month.

Or I mean- - [Mark] Yeah the day's of the month - And then Saturday through Saturday Then the month.

So that's pretty-- - [Mark] Was that kind of common for the time to have a calender clock like that?

- Yeah.

- Are the works old in your cabinet?

- Well, I'll tell you what, I made the cabinet and I had to buy the works.

So they're not antique works.

- Okay.

All right.

But they just look-- they look antique.

- They look antique - Beautiful work!

- I'm pretty proud of this.

I made this clock, did the hand carving on it.

I don't have it working now because I need to clean it, the movement.

This is a Jewelers Regulator, which is special to me.

- [Mark] Now what does that mean, a Jewelers Regulator?

- Well it's just the style of it.

This hung in the bank in Decatur.

And the gentleman I bought it from, when he passed away at his state I bought it because he was a friend of mine and I was able to get it.

These are all vials of mercury, for the weight.

That's what gives energy to the clock to make it run.

- [Mark] Seth Thomas.

- [Dick] Seth Thomas.

- [Mark] That's an American clock?

- [Dick] Yes it is, uh-huh.

- [Mark] And that's a good brand?

- [Dick] Good brand, right, right.

- Okay, now we are going to go out in the sun room where you got some really, really big time-- I mean big clocks.

(laughs) I said big clocks and I mean I mean big.

You could just barely squeeze it in here.

- Well, this is a 10 foot ceiling.

- Wow.

- Those are about nine feet seven inches tall.

The other about him that is difficult, they weigh 500 pounds a piece.

Of course that's with the weights out and stuff like that.

It took four of us to move it in here.

But this is another one of the Gazo clocks.

And as I told you in the other room, it is marked by the etching on the dial.

And this is also porcelain as well.

- [Mark] Look at the wood work, look at the wood work.

- [Dick] Yeah, the wood work I think I mentioned out there that the Hispanics do that for him.

And this is a walnut clock and this is an alder clock here.

That's alder wood.

Which is a lighter wood but it's very hard wood.

- [Mark] And also, that's about the same size.

- [Dick] Their the exactly the same.

(both mumble) Yeah, their exactly the same.

Same carving, same everything.

Yeah, yeah.

And then this clock, I got from a gentlemen and that was purchased at Chicago-- The World's Fair in Chigago in 1933.

And that's pretty special too because for me anyway, it's got these huge tubes in there.

They're really nice.

It makes a beautiful sound.

- [Mark] And the tubes, that's what resonates on the hour?

Right?

- Right.

(imitates resonating sound) - [Dick] Yeah.

I can just show you real quick.

(tubes chime) Pretty nice sound, I think.

And that one's going off now.

(laughs) - [Mark] You don't even hear it anymore, do you Dick?

(laughs) Dick, we're in the basement now and you ran into a situation here where you've got-- you only have so much room for so many clocks.

And you had these on the basement floor.

- Lots of them.

- Which was a bad idea.

Cause you did get water, you would lose them.

So these are all in storage.

- Yes, they are in storage.

I really hated it, they are because these clocks are-- I got some beautiful (mumbles) I think there's 12 in there.

And those are the double tablets I was telling you about when we were upstairs.

So this is just really storage, but there's some pretty nice clocks.

These are what they call kitchen clocks.

A lot of them have- A lot of these clocks, for instance, this one right here has an alarm system on it.

And you regulate it by turning this little dial right here.

- Oh so you know when to take something out of the oven.

- Yeah, exactly.

(laughs) - I love these globes.

- Those are called anniversary clocks.

They are Havelor Clocks.

And they run for a year.

That's why they're called anniversary clocks.

- Is that right?

- Yeah.

- So some of them you can run for a year, some of them go eight days and some of them are every day.

- Yeah they call them 30 hour clocks.

- Okay.

Well, let's go back here first-- - Oh that's all right, you're fine.

- Okay.

Are we good, we didn't knock anything over?

- Oh no, we're fine.

- All right.

- This is this kind of a unique clock here.

You don't see many clocks that open this way here.

It was running when I moved it.

Got it out of beat, probably a little bit.

But that's a- (stammers) It's got a unique movement in it.

And they're very hard to work on because the plates on a clock, the pivots have the gears.

Well, they're real tiny, real intricate.

And then when you put the clock back together, you gotta be very careful because you could pop the pivots really easy.

- Where's that from, do you know?

- I got it in Iowa, No I don't.

- Is it a French?

- Oh, I'm sorry, It's a French clock.

- It's French?- - Sure, sure.

Yeah.

- It's got a very different look about.

- Yeah it does.

- And these, I understand you told me, these are shaped like a banjo, So these are called banjo clocks.

And now would this have been a depot clock?

- I made it like one.

- Oh, you made that one?

- Yeah I made that clock - It's beautiful-- - And that's a shaker clock, this one over here.

- [Mark] Is 1840 the date?

- [Dick] Yeah.

I just wanted to dial ahead- - [Mark] Right, it's a replica.

And you built the case.

- [Dick] And there's a couple nice little smaller banjo clocks as well.

- [Mark] And some cuckoos.

- [Dick] And then we haven't seen any, these are called steeple clocks because they're shaped like a steeple.

- [Mark] Pretty, very pretty.

And you can see how on these cuckoos, you can see how the weights have to hang.

- [Dick] Yeah, and these are eight day.

the other one's upstairs-- These over here, most of these are 30 hour movements, you have to wind them every day.

- [Mark] Let's look over here because we just saw the cuckoo with the weights hanging.

These, you don't have room to hang the weights.

So they're not running.

Look at all the cuckoo clocks.

- There just there.

But they're pretty.

They all run really well.

I just don't have room to let the weights drop down.

- [Mark] Barb, have you ever wondered about Dick's sanity?

Ever when it comes to clocks?

- Yes, most of the time.

- Most of the time?

- Yes I have.

- Do you ever feel like clocks come first and wife comes second?

- Yes, I do.

(laughs) Absolutely.

Absolutely, I do.

- But you've grown accustomed to it, it's okay.

- Yes.

I enjoy the clocks.

We have a few too many, but I do enjoy the clocks.

- We're in your bedroom now and it's not full of clocks, but it's well represented.

I mean there are a lot of clocks in here.

- Yes, there are.

- [Mark] How in the heck do you sleep with all this banging going on?

- Never have a problem.

Never have a problem.

Never even know they're going on.

- But there's always something chiming.

- Always, yes, always.

But I never notice it.

I just I'm so used to it.

The only time I notice it is if something stops.

- Okay, when it's quiet you notice it?

And that wakes you up because it's quiet.

- Yes.

(laughs) - He's been collecting for some 45 years.

How long have you been married?

- 53.

- 53, So almost your entire marriage.

- Yes.

- When he brought the first few clocks in, what did you think?

- Well, I always liked them but he really started by making a clock.

And the first grandmother he made.

And so I loved that.

I love the fact that he made it.

And so then he just made some and then we just started buying some, just collected.

I've always enjoyed it, even though we do have way too many now.

There's no question about that, we have too many.

- Do you know how big your house would be if it wasn't full of clocks?

- Yes.

- This is a big house!

- Yes it is.

- But you do.

Having a hobby like that, that's kind of a cool thing.

Did he ever make a clock just for you?

- No, but he well- all of them are for me actually.

But he-- probably the most special one that he made, is that he made one for my mom and dad for Christmas one year.

And, you know, that captured my heart right there.

We still have that.

- So actually, being a little bit crazy is a good thing isn't it?

- Yes, it is sometimes.

But, you know, he does go a little too far sometimes.

(laughs) - Well, as long as you can sleep.

- Yeah.

I can sleep, I can sleep.

- It means you have a clean conscious and it means you're well rested.

So that's a good thing.

- Right, right, that's correct.

- Thanks Barb.

- Uh-huh, you're welcome.

(clock makes bird noise) (laughter) - A whippoorwill cuckoo.

- A whippoorwill.

It's actually a quail bird but I call it a whippoorwill.

- Yeah, that's a huge-- It's beautiful.

- For a cuckoo clock, it's got a huge movement in it.

And it's a really, really old movement because this is called a count wheel.

Right here's the count wheel.

And that's what determines the-- Watch.

(clock makes noise) Slips down in this notch right here.

Boom.

And that stops it.

That's the way it works.

- [Mark] It would figure that a guy that has 350 clocks would have a shop.

(laughs) You have a shop where you can work on all of this.

- And I tell you the truth, I know where everything is at.

- [Mark] That's amazing.

- [Dick] It really is.

- [Mark] You are going to have to make notes because as you get older, you will probably start forgetting everything.

We have been seeing a lot of the exterior of clocks but it's kind of nice that you got on setup here.

This is the innards of a clock.

They call it the movement?

- Movement, right.

- [Mark] It's beautiful, I mean, is this an old movement?

- [Dick] No, not really old.

- [Mark] Explain to us what we're seeing.

- [Dick] Well, we're seeing of course the movement out of the clock.

And what I do is I take the plates off.

I have an ultrasonic cleaner, I clean all the parts.

I put everything together after I rinsed it and dried it.

And then I lubricate it all.

And then I put it on my test stand and, and then I can I can start the movement.

I can start the movement and let her go.

And then I can check to make sure that the hammers are working right.

And it's letting down right.

And I usually leave- I usually leave a movement on a platform like this about a week.

That way I can watch the weights drop down and all of that kind of thing.

So that when I take it back to the person's home, it's in good shape.

- Yeah, That's really pretty, it's nice to see.

You've got a lot of these.

Dick, let's take a look at some of these.

Cause there's a little bit of history here, especially Springfield history here.

- [Dick] Yeah, sure.

- These are called- A lot of these are iron case clocks, but what do you call a clock that sits on a shelf like this?

- This clock right here, the real name for it is Adamantine.

It's just a mantle clock but that's the technical name for it.

And these that look like a camel's back, those are called tambour clocks.

- Okay.

- And then the ones that are really nice are the escapements and that stopped already.

I want you to see this.

This opening escapement here.

And that makes the clock more valuable when it has that.

And I've got about five or six of those out here right now.

- [Mark] And that's an iron case.

So that's heavier- - Oh, it's heavy.

- Heck, isn't it?

- Yeah, It really is.

- Some of these say Sangamo Electric on them.

I didn't know this but, they had a brand of their own like Illinois Watch Company.

- Yes they did, yeah.

And this clock right here.

- Move to the side a little bit so he can get in there.

- I was going to try and get the back-- Oh, we can't do it.

I had screws to get it off.

But these-- - Hamilton Sangamo.

- Yeah, that's an electric clock.

Most of the Sangomo's are electric clocks.

- Okay, here's another one up there.

- [Dick] Oh yeah, Yeah.

They have different sizes and so forth.

And they were a part of the Illinois Watch Company and Sangamo Clock Company.

- See, I didn't know they had a brand of their own.

- Yeah, hm-hm.

- Now take us over to your table if you would.

- Okay.

- And when you say you take them off there, they come over here to diagnose.

Is this what you diagnose?

- [Dick] Well, yeah.

What I'll do with this clock is I'll take this clock apart what I do is I'll let the springs, I have to capture the springs so that I, I have these little clamps right here that I put around the springs and then I'll let the spring go and it captures it.

So the power is out of it.

Then I can take these four bolt taps out right here and the movement comes apart.

And then I go clean it and put it back together, dry it, lubricate it and all that kind of thing.

And then I have these right here, I didn't show you this.

Then I can take this clock right here and I can put these on it.

And then I can-- I can actually hang that up on a nail and let it operate.

And I can see it that way.

So that's how I do these kind of movements.

And if it needs a bushing, I got a bushing machine here.

I can tell the size of the of pivot by measuring it.

Then I've got bushings right here that I can get to the right size.

And then I can put the plate here.

I can grind it out.

And then I can put the bushing in and I can put this, this hammer in.

And it puts it down in the hole and smashes it so it's real smooth.

- You have no formal training?

- Well, I had a guy in Decatur, Mr. John Reed taught me how to do this.

- Taught you how to do it.

But, you've never been a clock maker, you've never been a woodworker either.

Have you?

- Oh, I was a woodworker.

- Not professionally, you did it on your own time.

- On my own time, right.

- Making all these casings - Over the years.

That's what I've done.

- It's pretty remarkable.

- I had a tremendous industrial arts teacher.

Tremendous.

So that's where I got it.

- In high school?

- High school.

Yeah.

(laughs) Yeah, he was wonderful.

And I was really proud that he was able to come over and see some of my work before he died and he was proud of me.

- I'm sure he was.

- I enjoyed it.

- I want to thank you for this tour.

- You're welcome.

- We really enjoyed seeing your 350 clocks - I'm glad you enjoyed it.

And, I don't know if there's room for more clocks or not, but I kind of have a sneaking feeling that the count isn't going to stop at 350.

(laughs) With another Illinois story in Springfield.

I'm Mark MacDonald.

Thanks for watching.

(outro music) - Illinois Stories is brought to you by the Corporation For Public Broadcasting, Illinois Arts Council Agency, and by the support of Viewers Like You.

Thank you.

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