The late Peter Bomford started the newsletter and, after years of serving as the editor, retired and passed the reins to Ben Roberts. Four members have kept our chapter Newsletter (the Bytown Times) alive and well since the very beginning.Four members have published books on horology - the late John Plewes published a valuable book on clock repair Jane Varkaris published several extensively researched and excellent books on Canada's place in horology Gary Fox has published a book on the Canadian Horological Institute, Canada's first school for watchmakers and Maynard Dokken has published a seminal text on Westclox.Founding member, Jane Varkaris served on the Board of Directors of the NAWCC.Five members have been elected “Fellows” of the NAWCC, including the late Jane Varkaris, the late Dick Withington ,the late Bill Graham and current long time members Allan Symons and Gary Fox.While it is impossible to name them all, the contributions of several stand out: Many people from our chapter have contributed to the club and to the topic of horology over the past 40 years. In the summer we have traditionally held a family picnic where an auction is a much-anticipated event. There is an Annual Wine and Cheese party held in the fall at a member’s home where his or her collection is the highlight of the evening. Over the years, the club has added a number of social activities that have proven very successful. Education takes the form of presentations where the topics run the gamut from show and tell, to repair techniques, through to varying aspects of the history of horology. Since the earliest days, the meetings have included time for socializing a mart where members can buy and sell watches, clocks, tools, parts and horological books and business and educational components. Meetings provided still provide a forum for communication – members meet five times per year and share ideas, information, and repair techniques. In February of that same year, the club became the third Canadian Chapter of the NAWCC known simply as the Ottawa Valley Chapter #111.įrom Day 1, the club has had an enthusiastic, active and well-informed membership. The club thrived and in January 1979, the members voted to apply to the National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors (NAWCC) for Chapter status. Regardless, all members brought one thing in common - their enthusiasm for old timepieces. And finally, there were the researchers / writers – knowledgeable people who wanted to contribute to the hobby through research and documentation - teaching repair techniques, the history of Canadian Clock and Watch makers and much more. Then there were the handymen – people who could take an old lump of wheels and plates and pins and bolts and bring to life a functioning timepiece. Some had just one item, others had over a hundred. There were the collectors - people with collections of watches and clocks and watchmaker tools. ![]() ![]() The founding members represented a broad spectrum of interest in the field of horology. The Ottawa Valley Watch and Clock Collectors Club met for the first time in September 1975.
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