"Clock making requires skill, also involves study of history" from the June 12, 1979 Door County Advocate
By HENRY SHEA
George and Kathryn deFore in their (time) element. —Shea
Clock making requires skill, also involves study of history
By HENRY SHEA
A childhood riddle goes "What can't be seen, tasted or felt, yet it can be measured." The answer, of course, is time.
The word "time" gave even Mr. Webster and his successors some difficulties. The best they could come up with, by way of definition, was "The system of those relations which any event has to any other, as past, present, or future." The definition, while correct, is somehow unsatisfying and needs filling out, a vocation to which George de Fore, Fish Creek, has devoted himself since moving to Door county in 1974.
He calls himself, facetiously, the clockmaster and admits that he is, basically, self taught in the mysteries of clockmaking. In fact, he has been at it in one way or another since he was 12. Anyone who has seen the examples of his handiwork will have to admit that he was not only a good teacher but a good student as well.
George's first vocation was actually as a teacher of the French language in Naperville, Ill., schools after he had finished his training at North Central College. His interest in the French language stemmed at least partly from his half French-half Russian ancestry.
Previously, he had attended Culver Military Academy in Indiana where along with the mandatory semi-military curriculum there was offered a wide range of craft and recreational activities.
George found much pleasure in woodworking, a talent that was to contribute greatly to his later construction of clocks in a variety of woods. Perhaps the fact that his grandfather had been an engineer and builder of bridges in Russia contributed to his insistence on precision in his own work.
Clocks seem to be a mystifying part of history. Their development is difficult to trace. Pope Gregory mentions contemporary models in his writings of 606 A.D. and it is known that there were clocks in Magdeburg, Germany in 996. The forerunner of modern clocks was one built by Henry DeVick of Wurtemburg in Southwest Germany, for Charles V of France in 1360.
Because of building of a clock was, until the most modern times, a matter of craftsmanship and skill, the final production was apt to be expensive. Consequently they were the properties of nobility and in some cases cities and guilds. They frequently became very elaborate, might have moving figures which struck the hours or set an organ playing, This was especially true of large clocks found in towers where not a little artisanship was expended in creating fantastic carvings and sculpture of the figures which might appear on the hour, strike a gong and return to their places.
George de Fore follows a simpler style in his work though it requires as much care as more ornate models. His models are chiefly designs which originated in the original 13 colonies and thus have a definite link to American history.
Typical is a banjo clock after the pattern of one Simon Willard of Roxbury, Mass. The original had the distinction of having its gears cast in brass by no less a historical personage than Paul Revere, silversmith.
Previously, the interior works of clocks were made of wood which tended to wear out relatively soon. Brass, first cast, took over from wood about 1802. Later, in the 1840's, as more skill was gained in processing metals, sheet brass came into use and the older method of casting brass parts ended. Significantly, with the intervention of the coiled spring in 1500 by Peter Henlein, clocks continued to be driven either by weights or a combination of spring and pendulum as a regulator until the electric clock was first devised.
One of the features of de Fore's clocks which visitors will find most fascinating is the way in which they can be personalized. In a shelf or cottage clock the glass window enclosing the pendulum can be diamond etched with a scene to fit the owner's desires. Or, reverse painting can be used to place a graceful pattern in color on the glass so it is seen from the front but remains protected from wear.
Cases are made from a variety of woods, rosewood, mahogany, zebrawood or curly maple. One of the projects which occasionally engages George is the restoration of a clock of some age and distinction. Sometimes the entire movement must be replaced by a new one, sometimes the job is one of wood refinishing and bringing back the original luster and tone.
Another clock of classic American design is the pillar and scroll type which in its graceful face shows a Greek influence. The copy which George displays is from the original built by Eli Terry of Connecticut.
Also on display is a restoration of a French Morbier clock for which George has made a new case and new face, the original being enamel on copper. While George's first enthusiasm is for hand wound clocks he can also design and build an electric clock with the appearance of an older model but operating on household current.
George is not the only member of the family to take an interest in clocks. He met and married Kathryn in 1967 while they were both terminating their studies at North Central College. Shortly after they were able to spend 1968 and 69 in France, perfecting their command of the French language at the Sorbonne and Alliance Francaise in Paris.
Before studying to be a teacher of French and English, Kathryn had been deeply immersed in music and was hired by the Rochester. (New York) Civic Orchestra as a violinist at the age of 14. Now she has learned something of the techniques of enameling on copper and from time to time makes up decorative catches and other small pieces of hardware needed in finishing off clocks. George refers to her as the "Clockmistress" and is the first to acknowledge the additional flair that Kathryn's decorative details add to the finished product.
If you drop in at de Fore's you will have an opportunity not only to view products of character and elegance, but perhaps receive an educational review of clockmaking and history combined.
Courtesy of the Door County Library Newspaper Archive
Articles by Henry Shea
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