February 2024 Newsletter
Volume 41-5 Membership 335
Feb - Mar 2024 wwww.chapter124.org
President’s Message
One Day
I hope everyone liked the new location for our One-Day meeting. As mentioned in the last newsletter, Grapevine is working on the Founders Building. We all hope to be back there soon.
We started the One Day off with the mart. Then, we were happy to have Bill Edwards' presentation on “Electromagnetic Clocks”. Bill always has something interesting for us.
Bill Edwards Presentation on Electro-magnetic Clocks
After Bill's presentation we held a small auction and appreciate everyone making it a success. There will be much more in the auctions at Regional.
I hope everyone enjoyed lunch. We will have BBQ at the next One-Day and Annual Membership Meeting on June 1, 2024. Although not finalized, the location may be at the Euless Family Life Center. But, we are determined to return to the Grapevine Founders Building, as soon as possible. At the June Annual Membership meeting, we will be electing a new Board of Directors. If you are interested in any position on the Board, please talk to one of the current board members for more information. We have several positions opening and we need your expertise.
Regional
Registration for the Lone Star Regional by mail is in progress. There were some problems with getting the registration Program to work properly. Sorry for the inconvenience. Letters of registration will be out soon.
This year’s Regional exhibit will be “Calendar Clocks” for leap year. If you have one you would like displayed please contact Tim Brownlee at: lonestarchapter124@gmail.com. We could use Fashion and Southern Calendar Clocks along with some of the obscure companies.
Please register at the Hampton Inn by February 7, 2024. Banquet reservations must be made by February 20, 2024.
As always we will need many volunteers. If you can help with the set up or tear down please contact Tom Hefner at ThomasandSandy@gmail.com or call 817-565-8697. Thank you !
One more note, the costs for the 2025 Regional will be going up in all categories. For the most part, we have been able to maintain our prices for many years. But, as everyone knows, inflation has adversely affected both the Hampton Inn & Suites, as well as the Mesquite Convention and Expo Center. This will be reflected income of our costs for holding the Regional and must be passed along in the way of slightly higher admission and associated areas.
IMPORTANT NOTE: If you park in front of the Hampton Inn or in the Convention & Exposition Center parking lot, GIVE THE FRONT DESK YOUR VEHICLE LICENSE PLATE NUMBER AND LET THEM KNOW YOU ARE WITH THE LONE STAR REGIONAL. IN ACCORDANCE WITH OUR AGREEMENT, THEY WILL NOT CHARGE YOU TO PARK. IF YOU DO NOT PROVIDE THAT INFORMATION DURING CHECK-IN, YOU WILL BE SUBJECT TO DAILY PARKING FEES AND POSSIBLE FINES!
See You at Regional !
Tim Brownlee,
President
Chapter 124, NAWCC
Library Exhibit
Evelyn and Hugh Slough are in the planning stages for an exhibition in Paris, TX (not France). Waxahachie and Lancaster, Texas may be next. Please go by and see one of their Library Exhibits, - they put a lot of work into them.
Education
A Donation
One of our long-time members, Phil Gregory, has made a generous donation to our Chapter for the education department. He has asked that the money be used for a Chapter member to learn a specialty skill: ie; reversed glass painting, case repair, clock appraisal, etc. There is one requirement, you must bring your new learned skill back to the Chapter, hold a class and teach your new skill to the members. This is something to think about especially if you want to expand your horological horizons. Thank you Phil!
Classes
Upcoming classes in our education program are listed below. The first four must be taken in order, as they build on the knowledge gained in the previous class. Consult the Education page on the Chapter website for more detailed information.
CR 100 - Kitchen Clock Repair - Introductory level class is scheduled for April 20-21, 27-28.
CR 200 - Spring Barrel Repair - The second in a series of 3 June 22-23, 29-30.
CR 300 - Chime Clock Repair - TBD - Looking at October
CR-400 - Weight Driven Clock Repair - TBD
CD-100 - Wood Clock Case Restoration - TBD
SR-101 - Cuckoo Clock Repair - TBD
WR–100 – Beginning Pocket Watch Repair, Part A - Instructor needed
Of Interest
On a sad note, Wally Napier, a long time Chapter member and decorated Viet Nam veteran, passed away on January 22, 2024 at the age of 89. He was very involved with our Chapter and had many friends. One of his close friends, Gary Mowery, asked if we would post this information. Wally Napier's funeral service will be February 5, 2024 at Lucas Funeral Home located in Keller, TX. The service will start at 11:00am. He will be interred at the Dallas-Fort Worth National Cemetery at 2:15pm, also on February 5, 2024.
Stanly McMahan, an instructor at Paris College, has been teaching a series of watch repair class for our Chapter. He completed 3 of 4 classes. Stanley regrets that he will no longer be able to teach classes for because he is moving to Kansas to work for Jules Borel & Company - Watchmaking Supplies, Parts and Tools. Stan has been a valued member of our Chapter and his expertise and contributions will be greatly missed. We extend our thanks and support for your new venture. We extend our thanks, and support for his new venture.
Scholarship
The deadline for scholarship applications is February 1, 2024. As of now, no one has applied for this program that was set up in honor of Fred Tischler and John Erickson. If you intended to apply, don’t worry. Another scholarship award will be available June 1, 2024. This award can be used for the Chapter classes, NAWCC classes and other horological college classes. All Chapter 124 members are eligible to apply.
Membership - IMPORTANT
We will be purging our membership roster of inactive members at the end of March. If you haven’t renewed your membership by March 31, 2024, you will no longer receive any Constant Contacts or Chapter 124 newsletters. If you are unsure of the status of your membership, look at the next Constant Contact. Your membership expiration date will be posted after the main body of the email, along with a membership renewal link. Remember, you must be a member of the NAWCC to be a member of Chapter 124.
New Members
We welcome Cardell Valez, Aiden Bennett, Kelly Godwin, and Bryan Pritchett, as new Chapter 124 members.
President's Message
Volume 41 No. 3
Oct - Nov 2023
Next One Day - Oct 7
Founders Bldg
701 S. Main St
Grapevine, TX 76051
From The President
Greetings again Chapter 124 Members
First, I would like to apologize for inadvertently leaving out of one of our new board members from my last message. James Edwards joined the Board of Directors for the 2023 - 2026 term. Thank you, James!
Now, there are several exciting things going on with our Chapter. First it looks like this will be the last One Day in Grapevine for a while. The City needs to make renovations on the building. Bill Edwards found a place in Euless which will work for several meetings. The price is higher but, unless another permanent location can be found, we will have to deal with it. I ask everyone to notify me if you see a potential new location for One Days and classes.
As we prepare for the 2024 Regional, several steps are already being taken. We think that we have an exhibit theme; but, we are still accepting ideas. Breakout sessions and workshops are being planned. If you would like to participate in a lecture or demonstration please contact Tom Hefner or me.
Due to Hampton Inn increasing the price of some items, as well as room rates, we may need to look for another venue. The Hampton Inn has an almost perfect setup. But, they are pricing us out of the market. Last year's Regional yielded about $3,500 profit. With past years expense rates, we would have made over $10,000 for the Chapter. Make no mistake - we are still a non-profit organization. But, the proceeds from our Regional go toward many of our activities throughout the rest of the year. In order to offset our growing expense, we will be raising the price for tables and for the banquet from $35.00 to $40.00 for the 2024 Regional.
Remember, we need committees. One committee needed is I.T. Could you spend two hours a month working on our web site? How about a committee to find a new location for One Days and Classes. We need a graphic artist to make a poster to advertise Chapter 124. Several locations have said they would allow a poster to be displayed in their H. R. or lunch area. Raytheon is one of the locations. These are just a few areas we could use help. Please, consider helping!
One other item. A former member, Dr. John Hunt, wants to step away from clock repair. He has donated his tools to the Chapter. He said to use them as needed. Some will be auctioned off and others will stay to aid with our educational programs and classes. John also served on the board for three years and has been an active and respected member of the Chapter. Thank You, Dr. Hunt!
Tim Brownlee
President
Lone Star Chapter 124, NAWCC
Education
Good news on the educational classes. We have been successful in adding some classes for this year Our Watch Class has been successful with Stan McMahan. Larry Thomas taught a CR 100 class and Phil Ball taught the CR 200. One other thing Phil did was teach two other people to take over the CR 200 class. In the future John Acker and Tim Brownlee will take charge of the 200 classes. For now, Phil will continue with the CR 300. Pat Holloway from Chapter 15 is considering teaching a reverse glass painting class for our Chapter. Other opportunities will be coming such as a lathe and hopefully a cuckoo clock class. Jerry Kieffer, maybe?
CR-100 Kitchen Clock Repair Class: Tom Hefner (Assistant),
Fletcher Thomason, Myron Patrick and Max Haesly.
Students in CR-200 Spring Barrel Clock Repair Class:
James Edwards, John England, Ron Janetzke and Phil Ball (Instructor).
Library Exhibit
No exhibits are currently on display, but in January Grapevine is scheduled for the next Library Exhibit. Evelyn and Hugh Slough will be talking to the Waxahachie Library for future displays.
McClintock Clock
The McClintock clock is coming along nicely. Brian Schmidt said it should be (will be) ready for the 2024 regional. Arnold Madnick has refinished the case. Others that have been involved are Bill Edwards, Chuck Edwards, Jon Anderson, Max Haesly, Philip Soley, Arnold Madnick, George Augustas.
Volunteers Jon Anderson, Philip Soley and Brian Schmidt with the McClintock Street Clock’s Master clock.
(Case refinished by Arnold Madnick)
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