;)
For
the First part of the Dreger Clock's stay at Knott's Berry Farm
it was located in the rose garden near the candy parlor, and
bakery. The map on the right, scanned from a 1960's Park brochure,
shows the clock's location along the path that lead to the
Ghost Town.
This was where my grandmother, Lucile Dreger Barton discovered it standing a few years after he father had passed away. The clock had sold along with his property after his death. At some point after that the real estate agent, Carl Crothers, sold the clock to Knott's. Knott's had lovingly restored the clock and set it up in Mrs' Knott's rose garden to be enjoyed again by the public.
It
was good to see the clock back in a place where people could see and
enjoy it. That was why Andrew Dreger Sr. had built it. Lucile wrote
to Walter Knott and told him about the clock which her father had made,
requesting that his name be placed on a sign with the clock. Walter
Knott acknowledged her letter and ;)
requested
further information on the clock. The letter, addressed to my grandmother
can be seen here (right). For a short while Andrew's name appeared
on a sign near the clock, and was mentioned in the Knott's
employee newsletter, "The Knotty Post", but after a while
his name was replaced on the sign by the simple statement..."A
german watchmaker".
A short while after the clock came to Knott's it was paintd with a green and gold paint scheme instead of its original silver and grey. During this time it stood inside of a fenced in area of the rose garden. Sometime before 1972, when the family photo above was taken, the clock was repainted white and red with gold trim. In the mid 80s the clock was again re-painted a darker green and given knott's logos when it was moved to the front of the ticket booth area.
I would like to fulfill my grandmother's wish to see the clock placed once again where it can be enjoyed by the public, and have her father's name recognized and associated with the amazing clock he built.
