Going Back in Time

When I was a young boy I can remember going over to my Grandma & Grandpa's house to visit.  We would spend the night there, and I'd go back into my Dad's old room in the back of the house to play. My Grandma had not changed the room too much since Dad moved out.  Some of his old toys were there and his old football cleats and clothes were in the closet.  I would try the cleats on each time I went to see if I was growing.  They swallowed me up and looked like clown shoes on me!

One of the things I always remember being of particular interest to me was my Dad's alarm clock. Growing up I had regular alarm clocks that just told the time - boring, normal clocks with red-LED numbers on them or a standard alarm clock with the hour and minute hands on it.  Not my Dad.  He had perhaps the coolest clock that had ever been invented - A Roy Rogers Trigger Alarm Clock! Wow.

Happy Trails to You!

This vintage clock had an old western prairie and mountain range with mesas, cactus, and the hours were marked by coiled ropes in the shape of the numbers. But, are you ready for this?  Roy Rogers sits on Trigger's back and as the seconds tick tock, Trigger and Roy rock from side to side like they are galloping across the western frontier!

On the back of the clock are some big keys that you wind up.  The clock was made in the 1950's by E. Ingraham Clock Company of Bristol, Connecticut.  I found identical clocks like this on eBay in working condition that were selling for $95 - $150.  My Dad's old alarm clock shows some wear like you might expect, but it is still really neat.

Big wind up keys on the back

The only bad thing about it is that the clock doesn't work anymore.  Ol' Trigger was put out to pasture and instead of waking me up in the morning Roy and Trigger sit on the bookshelf in my office just looking pretty.  I'd like to find a clock shop that could repair them and return them back to their former glory.

Until such time I'll continue to be awakened by my boring alarm clock each morning.

Maybe if Roy and Trigger were galloping across a western scene I wouldn't hit snooze!  Happy Trails to you, until we meet again.