Family heirloom still ticking
It’s still ticking. I have few family heirlooms. One, however, is a large pocket watch given to me at the death of my maternal grandmother. It belonged to her husband, my grandfather, who died several years before I entered this world. I got to know him through stories my mother, aunt and grandmother told me, as well as some people who knew and worked with him.
Because of the positive nature of those stories, and the fact that everyone who knew him said I favored him, I treasured that watch. I carried it for several years after I inherited it, until one day it stopped. Bringing it to one of the older jewelry stores in the city, I was told it couldn’t be repaired. It was too old and the parts to fix it were no longer available.
Disappointed, I placed it with the few other keepsakes I have from family members.
There it remained until several years ago. I did a story on Jack Hostetler, a local jeweler and certified master watchmaker since 1955 who had been in business in Uniontown for decades.
I knew Jack from prior experience, first meeting him when I began covering SCORE, the local chapter of retired business people who offer free advice and help to entrepreneurs and others. He was active in the chapter and was one of its founding members.
After writing about his work as a watchmaker, I asked him if he could take a look at my grandfather’s timepiece.
Not making any promises, he told me to bring it in to his store.
Long story short, he located the parts needed to get the watch in shape and had it accurately ticking away in a few days. He continued to service it for me until his health began to decline.
After suffering several strokes, he was physically no longer able to work on my watch. His son, Dick, took over, but, after the last time it needed some attention, I figured it was safer to retire it before I did something to the heirloom and I’d never be able to use it again.
Grateful to Jack for getting that old watch (it’s nearly a century old) going, I stayed in touch, stopping by the store every now and again.
Jack passed away at home on April 20. He was 88. Dick told me Jack was able to bounce back from the strokes but had caught a bug that proved too much for him.
His obituary in part said Jack as a “well-known local jeweler and watchmaker.’
I found him to be much more.
He was what I call a gentleman of the old school. Polite, courteous, kind, moral with old-time values, every time I saw him he dressed in shirt and tie, with a sport coat nearby.
He took an active interest in the community, serving with various groups during his lifetime. His son, Dick, and grandson, Richard, worked with him in the family business, something you don’t see happening too often today.
Jack was definitely a craftsman. Anyone who has ever looked at the workings of a mechanical watch has to respect the intricacies and delicate nature of these devices and admire anyone who can successfully and repeatedly repair them. I remember when I was a teen taking apart what used to be called “dollar pocket watches.’ These were clunky machines that had few working parts, most of which were large. Yet, I was never able to reassemble even one of them.
The items Jack worked on where much finer and required more than a steady hand. They demanded knowledge and skill, both of which he had in abundance.
I know. Because I have proof.
It’s in my keepsake box and every time I wind it, it ticks away as a reminder of the man who rescued it for me.
Have a good day.
James Pletcher Jr. is business editor of the Herald-Standard. He can be reached at 724-439-7571 or by e-mail at begin jpletcher@heraldstandard.com jpletcher@heraldstandard.com end
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