Found my great-grandfather's pocket watch from 1910 in a forgotten drawer

I was cleaning out my mom's house in Toledo last month and found this old silver pocket watch tucked in the back of a dresser drawer. It was wrapped in a cloth and had his initials, J.D., engraved on the back. My mom said he carried it every day when he worked on the railroad. The glass is cracked and it doesn't run, but holding it just feels heavy with history, you know? I mean, this thing was with him through two world wars and the Great Depression. I'm thinking about getting it fixed, but part of me likes it just as it is, a quiet piece of the past. Has anyone else found an heirloom that stopped working but you kept it anyway?

3 comments

3 Comments

anna_coleman2d agoMost Upvoted

david_martin, that "stopped clock is right twice a day" thing is the only math that ever made sense to me. My dad's old watch stopped at exactly 2:17 and I've just been calling that a lucky time ever since. I figure if it ran again it'd just be wrong anyway, might as well let it be a permanent reminder of something true. Maybe my great-grandpa's watch is better off keeping its secrets than ticking away like nothing ever happened.

david_martin1mo ago

My grandpa's old compass from his navy days sits broken on my shelf. I read once that a stopped clock shows the exact right time twice a day, which feels kind of fitting for these things. Honestly, I like it better as a quiet reminder than a working tool.

henry_hernandez1mo ago

Ever wonder if broken things hold more truth than the ones that still work? Like they've settled into their real purpose.