In WWII everything
manufactured was controlled by the War Production Board (WPB) and everything
sold was controlled by the Office of
Price Administration (OPA). In July 1
1942 WPB Order M-126 went in to effect.
It was an order to conserve Iron and steel so more Iron and steel could
go into war production material. The
order curtailed the manufacturing of 400 common household items including
clocks.
According
to The Westclock Company in house “Tick Talk Magazine,” August 1942, “On July
31 we made our last Westclox until – only god knows! After more than 57 years
of making clocks and watches to serve and bring happiness to the peoples of the
world, our facilities and energies are now devoted to turning out the tools of
war.” There was no ceremony, no bands played, but it was a big day for the
company and workers. What they did was to say “so long” to their regular work
for a while. It wasn’t really a sad day. In fact the event kind of sparked a
new resolve in the employees. Kind of a roll-up-your-sleeves,
spit-on-your-hands and get-to-work elation. The headline on the Tick Talk
article said it all, “Hitler Will Pay Through The Nose For This And We Don’t
Mean Maybe!”
The WPB decided that
since about every household had a clock, to stop manufacturing them would not be
a hard ship for a couple of years. They
had not allowed for single and married people moving off to be near a war material
manufacturing plant and setting up a new household. There was an alarm clock shortage. Railroad workers in Delmar needed to know the
time.
War Production plants
begin to hire a “waker-upper”, someone to call the shift workers to tell them
it was till to wake up and get ready for work.
Not as effective as an alarm clock and when party lines were called
everyone was wakening up. In Delmar the
railroad callboy was kept busy knocking on doors getting railroad workers up
and too work.
For nearly a year there
were no alarm clocks manufactured.
Finally in April of 1943 it was announced an alarm clock would be made
with no manufacturer logo on it and of reduced metal material. Using mainly steel parts and very little brass
parts, with a paper dial, housed in a non-metal case, they were called Waralarms.
The clocks were made by
both Westclock and Telechron. The moulded
fibre case ones were made by Westclock and the Bakelite case ones were made by
Telechron. They were to be sold for $1.65 as commanded by
the office of Price administration and often that price was stamped on the back
of the clock. The public described the
alarm sound as that of a woodpecker at work on a hollow tree.
Shipped in limited
quantities to areas selected by the WPB near riots were created when they
showed up in stores. Workers need them and other people would buy them at $1.65
plus tax knowing they could be sold on the black market for three times that
price.
If found today the
Westclock waralarm would bring aout $50 in great condition and the Bakelite Telechron
will bring about a hundred dollars.
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