2015 National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors, Inc. Reproduction prohibited without written permission. WALTER CLOCKS

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1 WALTER CLOCKS A Canadian Mystery Solved by Allan Symons, FNAWCC (CAN) Figure 1. The prewar/postwar Walter Clocks company label always inside the mantel clock back door. Preamble The Canadian Clock Museum acquired its first Walter Clocks mantel clock in 2000 shortly after it opened. The company label, which includes operating instructions (Figure 1), is on the inside of the removable round back door. It indicates that the business was located in Toronto. The Clock Style No. 1A was typed on the printed label. I checked through many mid-twentieth century directories for Toronto but did not find this company. However, by accident, while looking through the advertising section of one of the directories, I discovered the name Walter Stonkus. It turned out that this man was listed at least during the period as a jeweler, casemaker, and clockmaker in Toronto. The obvious question arose was Walter Stonkus the man behind Walter Clocks? That mantel clock (Figure 2) was put on display in the museum with a text panel that included the name Walter Stonkus and a request for help from visitors who knew anything about Walter Clocks. Enter John Cole around Decades earlier, Cole had operated a jewelry shop in Thornhill, north of Toronto, and he had in fact known Walter Stonkus. He remembered the huge shaper machine that Walter had used to make his clock cases. And, more critical, Cole remembered that Walter s son s name was William. I contacted William (Bill) Stonkus in the fall of 2013 with a request for background information about his father s company. Bill was happy to help, and by early 2014 provided much background information plus an original Figure 2. The museum s first Walter Clocks Canadian-made mantel clock, with Westminster chimes. The postwar slantedends case and round back door are made of stained birch wood (Style 1A label). Figure 3. Walter s early business card before he started his clock company. COURTESY BILL STONKUS (4). 252 May/June 2015 NAWCC Watch & Clock Bulletin

2 shipping label and scans of photographs and company documents, including business cards. Meanwhile, over the past decade the museum has purchased four additional models of mantel clocks with the same company label, thanks partly to ebay. Ottawa Chapter colleague Maynard Dokken stumbled across a company catalog while doing research on Westclox alarm clocks in files at the NAWCC Library and Research Center in Columbia, PA. (Note the common alphabet letter W for Walter Clocks and Westclox pure luck.) The mystery of who created and operated the Walter Clocks company and when has been solved. The detailed story of the successful company is presented here for the benefit of everyone interested in these mid-twentieth century Canadian mantel clocks. The Early Years Walter Stonkus came from Lithuania to Canada in 1927 as a trained watchmaker. It appears he started as an employee at a jewelry shop on Richmond Street in Toronto before opening his own watch and clock repair business (Figure 3). In time he bought a home on Robina Avenue in Toronto and built a large garage/workshop behind it. Walter s true passion of working with wood soon took over. By the early 1930s a modest production of custom grandfather and mantel clock cases and clocks for other customers was under way in his workshop (Figures 4 and 5). Soon he needed more space because of the increasing demand. At that time the production equipment was moved to a much larger commercial building at 454 Winona Drive, in what was then north Toronto (Figure 6). Thousands more wood clock cases and clocks were produced in that rented space during the next 17 years, in a variety of shapes and sizes for many outside companies. The commonly used wood was walnut. Mantel and grandfather clocks were assembled for the resellers using pendulum movements imported from Germany and Great Britain. It is possible that Walter supplied mantel clock cases to the Forestville Clock Co. in Toronto ( ), whose German source had disappeared during World War II. The For- Figure 4, left. A row of grandfather clocks in Walter s Robina Avenue home workshop, made for other resellers (early 1930s). Figure 5, left. Walter Stonkus in his home workshop where he made thousands of mantel and grandfather clock cases and clocks for other companies (early 1930s). Right. Clock cases stacked inside his Winona Drive factory (mid to late 1930s). NAWCC Watch & Clock Bulletin May/June

3 estville cases from that period, containing U.S. and English movements, are stamped Made in Canada. A clientele also was being established for mantel clocks designed and made under his own Walter Clocks brand. Figure 7 shows rows of mantel clocks being tested. The script word Walter was on the early dials above the 6 on the walnut veneer cases (Figure 8). Bill Stonkus has no recollection of how the company name was chosen, but one can assume that a company called, for example, Stonkus Clocks might not have been as well received at the time. Figure 6. The first Walter Clocks production factory, 454 Winona Drive, Toronto (1930s-1940s). COURTESY BILL STONKUS (4). Walter s own designs of mantel clocks were being marketed directly to major Canadian retailers, such as Eaton s, Simpsons, Birks, and many jewelers throughout Ontario. Goldsmith of Canada became the national distributor of Walter Clocks mantel clocks across Canada. According to Bill, his father never put the Walter trademark name on any grandfather clocks those were only made for resellers and custom orders. The Walter Brand Mantel Clocks There were at least a dozen different models in the 1930s, four of which are shown in Figure 9A-9D. According to Bill, clock A (possibly Style 112) was constructed from 30 pieces of wood with a matched walnut veneer front that was common for all the walnut cases. From the model in C, it appears Walter had already introduced some slanted-ends case designs before World War II. The prewar cases typically had hinged back doors. The unique removable, round back door was Walter s postwar creation (Figure 10), when he had changed mostly to lower cost birch wood for the cases. One style was shown in Figure 2. Pictures of the other four mantel clocks in the museum s Walter Clocks collection are in Figures Note the slanted flat case ends for two models. The postwar dials typically had a skeleton chapter ring that revealed the rich wood of the case. The dial from the Figure 7. Rows of completed prewar Walter Clocks mantel clocks. Figure 8. The 1930s prewar walnut veneer mantel clocks had Walter s name on the dial. Figures 9A and 9B, above and below. Pictures of four 1930s branded Walter mantel clocks. 254 May/June 2015 NAWCC Watch & Clock Bulletin

4 Figures 9C and 9D, left and right. Pictures of four 1930s branded Walter mantel clocks. COURTESY BILL STONKUS (2). Figure 10, left. The unusual birch removable round back door (17 cm diameter) created by Walter Stonkus for his postwar mantel clocks. Figure 2 clock is shown in Figure 15. The postwar hands were brass plated, with the hour hand open in style. The unidentified prewar German time-and-strike movement in the Figure 11 clock is shown in Figure 16. The early mantel clocks also were available with a chimes movement (e.g., the models in Figure 9). Both time-and-strike (Figure 17) and Westminster chimes (Figure 19) German URGOS movements were used in the postwar mantel clocks (also large winding arbors, size 12). The example in Figure 17 strikes the hour on three tuned rods, but two other time-and-strike models in the museum s collection have a single hammer striking a large spiral gong (Figure 18). The movement plate has the URGOS logo and is stamped Made In Germany. The front and back of the commonly found postwar pendulum bob are shown in Figures 20 and 21. It has a Figure 11. Prewar walnut-cased clock (Style 400 label) with script Walter on the dial and hinged back door but the same company label as on the postwar mantel models. MUSEUM COLLECTION (4). Figure 13. Postwar stained birch model with slanted ends, round door (Style 103 label). Figure 12. Postwar mantel clock with stained birch case, round door, slanted ends (Style not typed on label, but probably 101, from this design shown in a 1950s company catalog). Figure 14. An elegant postwar design with curved case ends, stained birch, round door (Style 1A label). NAWCC Watch & Clock Bulletin May/June

5 Figure 15. The typical hands and skeleton chapter ring found on postwar Walter Clocks mantel clocks. 42 mm brass shell over a lead center, with gold paint on the back. The Effect of World War II The war put a halt to overseas shipping, and the supply of clock movements from Europe stopped. Although he continued to make clock cases for resellers, the war shortages forced Walter Stonkus to consider other options. He tested his woodworking skills by producing some guitars and mandolins, which are still in existence today. In the early 1940s he also was acting as the wholesaler of his own Canadian-made small tools, which included fine screwdrivers and jeweler s pin vises. Figure 16. The prewar German time-and-strike movement in the Figure 11 mantel clock. Figure 17. A time-and-strike, tuned rods URGOS movement in Walter Clocks postwar mantel clocks. Figure 18. A time-and-strike, spiral gong movement found in postwar mantel clocks. Figure 19. The quarter-hour Westminster chimes movement in the postwar mantel clock in Figure May/June 2015 NAWCC Watch & Clock Bulletin

6 At that time, the Canadian War Time Prices and Trade Board canvassed small machine shops for the ability to produce special items for Canada s war effort. It was soon learned that some of the old machinery used to tool up Walter s woodworking machines was suited for producing useful components. Soon his factory was making specialized stainless steel studs, firing pins, and blood transfusion valves, and wooden test propellers for training aircraft. During this period, Walter built his own lapstrake mahogany inboard fishing boat and his own deepwater fishing reel system. He became famous for catching some of the biggest lake trout in Lake Simcoe in Ontario. A New Postwar Factory After the war, a new Walter Clocks production facility was built around 1947 at 121 Willowdale Avenue, north of Toronto (Figure 22). As noted previously, manufacturing of Walter brand mantel clocks resumed with its own case designs and imported URGOS German movements. Some postwar cases were still made with walnut veneer, although it became more difficult to obtain. Birchwood, stained various colors, was chosen by Walter because of its lower cost a less expensive clock could be produced for the market. For example, in the mid-1950s Style no. 101 with the Westminster chimes movement was priced at $64 for walnut and $53.50 for birch. Walter also resumed the production of mantel clocks for other companies, using cases made by him and movements provided by the customer. For example, in November 1949 the T. Eaton Co. in Toronto ordered a hundred clock cases for the supplied Westminster and strike movements, the completed clocks to be returned to Eaton for sale in its stores. Details are recorded on the Return Bill shown in Figure 23. The rejuvenated clock business that included both making mantel clocks and then later importing various German clocks (see below) flourished for almost 20 years. Walter Clocks products often were promoted at annual trade shows in Toronto during the 1950s. Walter s son Bill installed movements in the cases until the last of their own Walter brand mantel clocks were produced in the late 1950s. Figure 20, left. Typical postwar pendulum bob (front). Figure 21, right. Typical postwar pendulum bob (back). By 1957 the unused half of the factory space was being rented to Lynch Pools Ltd. Walter continued to run the import clock business as it declined. Bill started working for Lynch Pools; by 1964 he had purchased that company. The building was sold in The Willowdale documents header (Figure 24) and shipping labels (Figure 25) now showed Walter Stonkus & Son, although the official company name Walter Clocks was never changed. The company logo was a clock dial image with the hands at 10 o clock. Walter initially had his own business card (Figure 26). Bill s name did Figure 22. The 1947 purposely Walter Clocks factory at 121 Willowdale Avenue in Toronto. By the time of this 1957 photo, some space was being rented to Lynch Pools Ltd. COURTESY BILL STONKUS. NAWCC Watch & Clock Bulletin May/June

7 appear with his father s on a later card when he became more involved in company operations (Figure 27). A Declining Market for Mantel Clocks The appeal for mantel clocks in general started to fade in North America by the mid-1950s. Walter s own mantel clocks were supplemented in the new company catalogs with imported German products such as Kundo 400-day clocks, Mauthe alarm and travel clocks, and Schatz and Shmechenbecker cuckoo clocks. These were sold mostly to the jewelry trade in Ontario, with both Walter and Bill often on the road to visit shops that were stocking these various clocks. By 1959 only imported clocks were being displayed in the Walter Clocks trade show exhibit (Figure 28). This business was carried on into the 1960s. The front and back covers of that undated Walter Clocks company four-page catalog, discovered by Maynard Dokken in the NAWCC Library, are shown in Figure 29. Although the catalog is hand-dated in pencil 1948, Figure 25. A later company shipping label that includes the clock dial logo. Figure 23. A 1949 order from the T. Eaton Co. in Toronto to case 100 mantel clock movements. COURTESY BILL STONKUS (6). Figures 24A and 24B, above and below. A Walter Clocks Willowdale document header and clock logo. Figure 26. Walter s Willowdale business card. Figure 27. Bill and Walter s Willowdale business card. 258 May/June 2015 NAWCC Watch & Clock Bulletin

8 A Tragic Accident In 1966 Walter Stonkus was injured in a very serious auto accident in which, through no fault of his own, two people were killed. The result was that, at age 65, he was laid up for years and essentially was forced into retirement from the clock business. However, after much rehabilitation, he still maintained a watch and clock restoration bench in his basement as a hobby and continued his reputation of never letting a clock go unrepaired. He died in As recently as 2013, Walter still was being fondly remembered by some local jewelers who used to take their difficult clock problems to his basement repair shop. Figure 28. The Walter Clocks booth at a 1959 trade show in Toronto, with only imported clocks on display. COURTESY BILL STONKUS. Bill Stonkus thinks that the correct date is more likely later in the 1950s when the various German clocks were being imported and sold. Conclusion There is no question that the wood cases for the various models of Walter Clocks mantel clocks that are found today were designed and manufactured in Toronto. Imported British and German pendulum movements were installed prewar, and German URGOS movements postwar. There are countless unidentified Walter Stonkus cases used for the mantel and grandfather clocks sold by other Canadian companies during the mid-twentieth century. Unfortunately, only one Walter Clocks catalog has been found to date. Considering the thousands of Walter brand walnut and birch mantel clocks that were made before and after World War II, it is surprising that so few seem to turn up online for sale on ebay and Kijiji. Canadian collectors also may find one in local antiques malls and flea markets. Perhaps many of those clocks have become prized possessions that are still handed down in families from generation to generation. Acknowledgments As noted in the Preamble, I had the good fortune to meet John Cole, the museum visitor who reactivated my Walter Clocks research interest by responding to our display text that requested information about the company. Figures 29A and B, far left and left. The front and back covers of an undated (probably mid- 1950s) fourpage Walter Clocks catalog that included various imported German clock types (400-day and cuckoo clocks, home and travel alarm clocks) plus Walter s own production mantel clocks. COURTESY NAWCC LIBRARY AND RESEARCH CENTER. NAWCC Watch & Clock Bulletin May/June

9 Nancy Dyer and staff at the NAWCC Library and Research Center were able to find and then scan the four pages of the Walter Clocks catalog that Maynard Dokken discovered earlier. Most important, I am truly indebted to Walter s son Bill, who provided the detailed company and family history that, through words and pictures, put a human face on the inanimate hardware the distinctive mantel clocks that are his father s legacy of his hard work more than 50 years ago. Bill concluded one of his messages to me with the words A son s loving memory. About the Author Allan Symons interest in Canadian clocks goes back more than 30 years. He is the founder, manager, and curator of Canada s only clock museum, The Canadian Clock Museum in Deep River, Ontario. In 2014 this museum entered its 15th year of showcasing 200 years of Canadian clocks. Through its website at it has helped more than half a million people from Canada, the United States, and around the world with their research. Allan previously published a Bulletin article about Harry Snider s two Toronto-based, mid-twentieth century clock companies (volume 52/2, No. 385, 2010). An article about three styles of wall clocks made in the 1960s-70s by the Girotti Sculptured Art Company in St. Catharines, Ontario, has been submitted to the Watch & Clock Bulletin for review. He is working on an article about the museum s very rare wood movement tallcase clock made by a spinning wheel maker in the early 1820s in Quebec, Lower Canada. it s time to enter the 2015 Crafts Competition 2014 Class 3, 1st Place: Single-Train Clock Movements WOOD by Michael J. Efta (AK) NAWCC NATIONAL CONVENTION Chattanooga, TN June 17-21, 2015 See nawcc.org for more details: nawcc.org >> Members >> National and Regional Events >> National Crafts Contest 260 May/June 2015 NAWCC Watch & Clock Bulletin