My Dad's Pocket Watch

Shared note	My Dad's Pocket Watch My Dad's pocket watch was around throughout my childhood. He never wore it that I remember, but it was always in a drawer - in his desk I think. I managed to take it several times to use, and fortunately never broke it! He never said anything about me using it, but it must have worried him. The story I remember is that he bought the watch for himself, for his 21st birthday in September 1934. His Dad had died young, so my Dad grew up pretty poor, living with his Mother and various relatives through those years. He took some classes, to learn to be a bookeeper/accountant, and he may well have had his first real job by the time he was 21, so he could afford to buy the watch. In several photos of that mid-1930 period, you can see him wearing the watch. The watch and his car were probably his two most valued possessions to judge by the way he stands in the photos! In the early 1970s I helped a friend move to Washington, D.C. While there, I met an old retired lady and spent some time in her house, helping to glue together a number of various items that she had collected over the years. Among these was a small carved wooden box. I think it was the wooden hinge that I repaired. But to begin with, neither of us had any idea what the purpose of the box was. Only after looking at it did it occur to me - it was a box to hold a pocket watch. The old lady gave it to me to thank me for the work I'd done for her. I gave it to my Dad for his pocket watch, for Christmas 1973 - the last Christmas I lived in Texas before coming to New Zealand. After Dad died in December 1980, I got the watch. I don't even remember it much being talked about in the family - I had just always known it would come to me. I've had to replace the glass faceplate a few times over the years, and will need to get it cleaned soon, as it doesn't seem to be running as reliably as it always has. The watch is now (late 2011) 77 years old, and my Dad has been gone for 31 years. I hope the watch remains in our family forever! Nick Wallingford, son of John Roland Wallingford 6 December 2011

Shared note

My Dad's pocket watch was around throughout my childhood. He never wore it that I remember, but it was always in a drawer - in his desk I think.

I managed to take it several times to use, and fortunately never broke it! He never said anything about me using it, but it must have worried him.

The story I remember is that he bought the watch for himself, for his 21st birthday in September 1934. His Dad had died young, so my Dad grew up pretty poor, living with his Mother and various relatives through those years.

He took some classes, to learn to be a bookeeper/accountant, and he may well have had his first real job by the time he was 21, so he could afford to buy the watch.

In several photos of that mid-1930 period, you can see him wearing the watch. The watch and his car were probably his two most valued possessions to judge by the way he stands in the photos!

In the early 1970s I helped a friend move to Washington, D.C. While there, I met an old retired lady and spent some time in her house, helping to glue together a number of various items that she had collected over the years. Among these was a small carved wooden box. I think it was the wooden hinge that I repaired. But to begin with, neither of us had any idea what the purpose of the box was. Only after looking at it did it occur to me - it was a box to hold a pocket watch. The old lady gave it to me to thank me for the work I'd done for her.

I gave it to my Dad for his pocket watch, for Christmas 1973 - the last Christmas I lived in Texas before coming to New Zealand.

After Dad died in December 1980, I got the watch. I don't even remember it much being talked about in the family - I had just always known it would come to me. I've had to replace the glass faceplate a few times over the years, and will need to get it cleaned soon, as it doesn't seem to be running as reliably as it always has.

The watch is now (late 2011) 77 years old, and my Dad has been gone for 31 years. I hope the watch remains in our family forever!

Nick Wallingford, son of
John Roland Wallingford

6 December 2011

Alive Dead Death>100 Death<=100 Birth>100 Birth<=100 Roots Leaves
Given names	Surname	Sosa	Birth		Place		Death		Age	Place	Last change
John Roland Wallingford Father: John Pinckney Wallingford Mother: Mina Edna Hegar				18 September 1913	111	Joseph, Waller, Texas, United States of America	5	3 December 1980	43	67	Houston, Harris, Texas, United States of America	Friday, 26 December 2014 19:10	M	YES	Y100
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