Port Clinton's Watchmaker - Linda Higgins

We have so many special people in our town, all of whom work to make this a great place to live. One of Port Clinton’s longtime residents, Richard (Dick) Sneary, had a special interest in watchmaking and repair. He put it to good use for many years. And, although he recently celebrated his 100th birthday, he continues to help family and friends keep their watches in good shape, long after formal retirement from his career.

During World War II, Sneary had his Army training at Camp Perry, then was sent to the South Pacific arena. His introduction to watchmaking occurred during his trip home, when he happened upon one of his shipmates fixing watches in his spare time. This was the man’s civilian job and Sneary found himself fascinated, watching him whenever the man took up his tools to work. This same mate suggested that Sneary use the GI Bill to learn the trade. Dick found himself in Pittsburgh, PA, at the A.M. Thacker Academy of Jewelers, graduating in 1951.

While working for a jeweler in Pittsburgh in 1955, he became aware of a job opening in Port Clinton. He applied and shortly thereafter was working in downtown Port Clinton at Phillips Jewelers, which eventually became Leo Marks Jewelers. He worked there for 34 years. His wife Eleanor worked at her place of business down the street, at Sneary’s Tots to Teens and Women’s Wear. They had bought one of the first houses on Taft Street. At that time it was surrounded by open areas, such as Kasper’s Farm. Eleanor passed away in 2015, but Dick remains there, with one of his daughters, Carla, helping him.

During the 1960s, the person who had been tending to the maintenance of the courthouse clock became ill, and Sneary took over that position, too. The clocks (four faces in the tower) needed worked on about once a week, as they slowed or sped up a bit regularly. He would take the elevator for the first three floors, then take stairs the rest of the way, several more floors. When the clocks needed repairs, Dick would just use his key to let himself in at any time, something that wouldn’t work today! And he had no title and was paid once a year! That probably wouldn’t work today, either!

Besides his much-needed expertise in making and repairing watches and clocks, he contributed to the community by his active involvement in civic organizations, as did Eleanor. He enjoyed fishing and hunting, but his passion was golf. He spent many years on golf vacations in Florida, where his daughter Jackie lives, and was still hitting holes-in-one in his 90s!

We thank Richard Sneary for his World War II service, and while he may be retired from his civilian profession, he has set up a full watchmaker’s shop in his home’s upstairs, equipped with all of his repair tools, various clock and watch parts, and an old engraving machine. His friends know that if they have watches needing repairs, he’ll take on those projects. And since his friends are of all ages, he has his work cut out for him for a long time to come.

Note: I took some information for this article from newspaper interviews by Shari Trusty filed at the Ottawa County Museum. Shari does a great job as correspondent for several local newspapers