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VIDEO NEWS: Norwegian heirloom clock gets a face-lift

By David Gonnerman '90
April 5, 2010

A rare 18th-century Norwegian tall case clock that used to stand in an English Department classroom has recently been restored and delivered to its new home in the office of St. Olaf President David R. Anderson '74. The restoration, funded by a grant from the Nygaard Foundation, was carried out by Smithsonian-trained conservator Bob Tjaden.

The clock was a gift to St. Olaf in 1947 from Christian J. Golee (1890–1950), who emigrated from Oslo in 1905 and became a prominent businessman in Evanston, Illinois. "Golee is not known to have family connections to St. Olaf," says Gary De Krey, director of St. Olaf's Center for College History. "But he may well have moved in the same Evanston Norwegian-American circles as Arthur E. Anderson, founder of the accounting firm and a friend of St. Olaf President Lars Boe."

Little is known about the history of the clock between 1779, the date painted on the case, and Golee’s acquisition of it. The original quality of the clock is such that it could only have been owned by families who belonged to the Norwegian social and professional elite. The movement includes a metal disk with the name "Simmon Shafnserve," which could be the name of an owner or, if the clock was given as a wedding or anniversary gift, the name of the gift giver. (The clock could have been made earlier than 1779; the date and two sets of initials painted above it may merely commemorate significant events in its gift history).

According to De Krey, the clock is a museum piece of the highest quality due to the originality with which it combines both Norwegian variations of English clock design and local variations of Gudbrandsdal rosemaling.

Contact David Gonnerman at 507-786-3315 or gonnermd@stolaf.edu.