|
“Welcome to Maine, the way life should be!” Thirty-One members and guests arrived at
Homestead Bakery in Farmington, Maine.
On the brink of fall, we enjoyed a low seventies sunny day even though
there was a threat of rain in the air.
Farmington is home to the former Farmington State
Teachers College, which has since become a campus of the University of
Maine. It’s a friendly town, and it
welcomed Chapter 89 for the second time at the Homestead Bakery.
The 151st meeting and 34th year
of Maine Chapter 89 got underway at 11:00 a.m. with some NEW faces in the
crowd. 1st
Vice-President Dennis Hillman was busy taking care of member and guest
registration, so Past-President Ben Crosby rolled up his sleeves to
officiate the meeting.
The crew of Homestead Bakery served the main entrées
of lasagna and chicken potpie while we helped ourselves to a salad, bread
and dessert items. Smiles replaced
growling stomachs.
The Business Meeting started around 1:00 PM, led by
Past-President Ben Crosby. I had a
hankie ready “just in case” he got misty.
Ben misses being at the lectern.
He extended a hearty welcome to our visitors and friends of members
and asked for “self-introductions”.
OLD
BUSINESS:
Secretary Ern Grover recapped the events of our “Lobstah Picnic” in
Rockport and rendered the Secretary’s Report. The membership in attendance accepted the report.
Looking
ahead: Our November 15th, 2003 Meeting will be held at the New
Meadows Inn at West Bath, Maine.
Our program agenda will be three-fold. The first order of business will be elections of Chapter 89
Officers for 2004. Following the
election, members Sally Frkonja and Rich Mechaber will offer their remarks
and insights about their exciting futures in the world of clocks and
watches. Sally completed formal
training at the NAWCC School in Columbia, and Rich Mechaber learned Ern
Grover’s bad habits during a brief apprenticeship. Following their presentations, we’ll
shift gears for the Chapter 89 Annual Auction. Cal Morgan has agreed to be our auctioneer once again.
NEW BUSINESS:
Past-President Ben Crosby
offered a hearty welcome to a long-time member, Margaret Crane, who had
returned from Virginia for the summer months. It’s always good to see Margaret.
Ben asked for Thelma Boutin to come
forward. As you know, Andre, her
husband and beloved friend and former treasurer of Chapter 89, passed on in
March of 2002. Thelma accepted a
“Certificate of Appreciation”, signed by NAWCC President Doug Cowan (May,
2002). Thank you Andre and Thelma
for your years of dedicated service to Chapter 89.
presentation: The folks of Chapter 89 were
the “Stars of the Show”. Several
members stood to show off “My Favorite Clock”. Ben Crosby brought his retirement clock as well as a
beautiful Ingraham Mission Oak mantel clock, Alex Cummings held up his Seth
Thomas schoolhouse clock, Mel Foley
showed us his Ingraham kitchen clock with fancy dial, Cathy and Wally
Williams showed off their oversized watch and fan dancer clock. Ray Humphreys passed around a handsome
Civil War American Waltham for all to admire.
However, Carl McCabe brought
in a real beauty. Carl’s been working on his Howard banjo reproduction over
the past months. His machining
skills were evident when he put the 8-pound pendulum in motion. The casework was exceptional. Well done, Carl!
Invitation: Reach out! We encourage each of our members to invite someone to a
future meeting.
Respectfully submitted,
Ern Grover,
Chapter 89 Secretary
Back to Home Page
|
