It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas around the museum, and it will soon look even more like Christmas – when the outdoor lights go on. The old Westclox building has been dark for too many years. Last year the owners, Promier Products, installed many lights on trees and the front of the building, much to the delight of everyone in the community. This year they are promising even more lights and some unexpected surprises. The switch will be flipped on at 6 p.m. on Saturday, November 28. Trust me; you won’t want to miss this year’s light display. If you can’t make it on Saturday evening, the lights will be on every night throughout the holiday season. You don’t even have to get out of your car to enjoy them, so come on down!
Ever since the museum opened in February we have heard comments from visitors about the wonderful Christmas parties Westclox used to have for the children/grandchildren of employees in the 1960’s. These were BIG parties with professional entertainment and, of course, Santa himself. Each child in attendance received a wonderful age and gender-appropriate gift, along with a stocking filled with treats. In response to the frequent question, “Do you remember the Christmas parties?” we put together a collage of representative photos from the parties. This is always on display at the museum, and just in time for this Christmas season we have received one of the beloved toys received at one of those parties. The loveable rubber squeezey, squeaky dog with blinking eyes now has a new home in the Westclox Museum where he will be on display year-round. Over the years he has lost his squeaker, but he’s still as loveable as ever. Special thanks to the now-grown child who loved him and took such good care of him for more than half a century!
This year we are offering Westclox Museum Christmas ornaments for sale. They feature Tick Talk Christmas covers from 1927, 1934 and 1936. Since this is the first Christmas for us, we are not quite sure what kind of response we will have, so the ornaments are available in limited quantities. We are not set up to accept mail orders for the ornaments or for our T-shirts this year, but we will consider this for next year. For now, purchases must be made in person at the museum. We also are not set up to accept credit cards – cash or check only. The ornaments are $2, $4 and $6, depending on size. The $6 ball ornaments are in shortest supply. We hope you will stop by to get a memory for your tree or for a gift. T-shirts make great gifts, too.
We will be continuing our regular museum hours: M, W, F – 9 – 3 and Sat. 10 – 2 throughout most of the month of December, but we will be closed Christmas Day and New year’s Day. After that, there could be some changes in hours for the winter. We’ll announce this as soon as decisions are made.
I’ll be stepping out of my corner for a while during January and February, but I will continue to write and submit this column remotely from a warmer climate. If anybody has a topic they would like to see covered here in the Curator’s Corner, please comment here or contact us via this site. I’ll try to research your interests and get the information out.
I’ll close in the time-honored fashion of Westclox by wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.