New Aquisition....another heirloom

[txrob779]

My stepfather of 25 years knows I am a WIS. He also knows I have 105 years of heirloom timepieces. Today at breakfast he gives me his dad's watch. Doc Shisler was a USDA meat inspector at the Swift/Armour packing plant in the historic Stock Yards of North Ft.Worth.

More History

In the late 1870's the Chisolm Trail was still booming and the main trail from the King Ranch (800,000 square acres) in south Texas to Dodge City, Kansas stopped at the huge stock yards in Ft.Worth to sell, trade and drive cattle to Dodge City. The devolpment of the refrigerating box car started the beef packing boom in Ft.Worth.
Since the 1870s, city fathers had been discussing how to turn Ft. Worth into a profitable meat-processing center. In 1890, 30 area businessmen and a handful of Texas cattle barons created the Texas Dressed Beef and Packing Company in North Ft. Worth. Next to the plant was the Union Stockyards Company. Not to be outdone, Louville Niles and others formed the Ft. Worth Stockyards Company in 1893. With the expectation of establishing operations in the area, officials from Armour and Company visited Ft. Worth. Swift and Company, a competitor, began considering the same idea. Ft. Worth leaders convinced both companies to build plants. In 1901, the stockyards of the Texas Dressed Beef and Packing Company were reoganized under J. Ogden Armour as president and E.E. Swift as vice president, and in 1902 construction on the meat packing facilities began. They paid them $50,000 each to locate plants in Ft.Worth.

By 1909, demand required Swift and Armour to enlarge the stockyards. Daily production was increased to 5,000 hogs and 3,000 cattle. When fire gutted the plants in 1911, the companies rebuilt using steel and concrete, and a system of fire hydrants was included.

My grandfather by marriage, my step grandad, worked at this plant from 1929 until 1972 when it burned again, for 7 days. The plants, one now delapitated the other is a museum. My stepdad says he wore this watch everyday from the late 60's until his death in 1986.


The Heirloom is...





1969 Timex Electric
Model 9417
Movment 40
Strap 90 (Black Lizard)

I know Timex's don't have a lot of value but I am very stoked to have this watch. Incase you don't know, the electric was a transition from manual to quartz. It used a battery to create a magnetic field to oscilate the balance wheel of a basic manual movement. It's kinda cool technolgy. It sweeps but uses a battery. I have cleaned the watch up and removed the deteriorated Speidel stretch band. I'll have my watchsmith open it up and clean it and see if the thing works, throw a new strap on it a keep it forever.

I'll post pics when I get home form work today.

[Letsgodiving]

Great story and history. There is a lot of personal value in the history and sentiment involved there. More so than a monetary value imo. Looking forward to the pics.

[Paulie]

Thanks for sharing Rob. Please get some pics of that Timex! Very neat concept making an electric/automatic hybrid watch.

[bankman33]

very cool