Fred Kolishenco and his Clocks
Friends considered him a horological wizard
An offering of clocks from the Fred Kolishenco collection comes to auction at Miller & Miller on October 9th.
To describe the late Fred Kolishenco solely as an avid clock collector is to miss the sparkling essence of the man. Skilled mechanic, inventor, Mr. Fixit, historian, teller of (tall) tales, avid practical joker, good friend and neighbour, dedicated husband and father merely scratches the surface of a well-loved and admired man.
The myriad of tributes to Fred, who passed away, age 87, in Oakville, Ontario on October 30, 2020, only begins to open the window on the man’s soul.
Friend Gary Watkins offered: “Fred was the most 'alive' person I've ever known. Most of us are alive until we're not, but Fred exceeded that definition. He was interested in everything and everyone. He had a heart of gold and was curious about all he encountered.”
“Curious about all,” but enamored, especially, with antique clocks. A collector of high end, often quirky and one of a kind timepieces for over 50 years, Fred’s eclectic taste—and genius will be up for auction at Miller & Miller Auctions of New Hamburg’s Firearms, Sporting and Canadiana sale on Saturday, October 9.
Fred had “the eye” and relished nothing more than a weekend road trip to the big clock conventions south of the border. There, treasures called to Fred. His collection includes a Confederation-era conical mystery clock (thus called as the clock’s hands seem to move with no apparent mechanism to drive them) with a dial that bears the name Savage & Lyman: one of Montreal’s earliest jewellers. It also includes a rare Circa 1805 William Vale musical bracket clock, and a William Lemist “square-bottomed” banjo clock. These and more made their way back to Fred’s Oakville home.
This Conical Pendulum Mystery Clock (Savage & Lyman Montreal) is offered as lot 215 in the upcoming sale.
It seems that Fred Kolishenco’s mechanical genius made him a veritable wizard in repairing damaged or “needs some tweaking” clockworks as well. One Fred-fan called his friend’s “expertise and repair of clocks beyond belief.”
A newspaper article about Fred Kolishenco. Click to enlarge.
Fred showcases an Austrian clock from the late 1700s.
A good eye and a skilled pair of hands, Fred Kolishenco’s genius strayed to design and manufacture too. Miller & Miller will feature a Kolishenco-designed- and-built “Congreve” (rolling ball) clock. This ingenious design, invented by Sir William Congreve in 1808, is driven by a steel marble rolling along a zig-zag track rather than a pendulum to keep time. An original example remains in the collection of Buckingham Palace.
This handcrafted "congreve" clock by accomplished clockmaker and collector Fred Kolishenko is offered as lot 210 in the upcoming sale.
Delighting both friends and admirers with his often “outrageous sense of humor” was Fred’s skeleton clock. Skeleton clocks are named after their two ‘skeletonized’ plates that hold everything together. If you look closely at Fred’s, you’ll notice a tiny metallic ‘grasshopper’. It represents the clock’s ‘grasshopper’ escapement, which keeps the mechanism moving steadily. Why grasshopper? It represents the kicking action it makes.
A member of the NAWCC (National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors) Toronto Chapter, Fred and his clock-loving buddies loved to mix hi-jinks with treasure hunting at large international Watch and Clock Shows. And while it was all business once “the boys” got to the venue, they liked nothing more than a bit of fun on the way.
Old friend and fellow-clock collector Bob Sembay recalls one such trip.
“We were headed to a convention in Chicago and I was driving. I had to stop to use the facilities and as I was inside, somebody walked in to say that there was a car, with Ontario licence plates, out front that seemed to be on fire.”
“I roared out and sure enough, my car was so full of smoke that I couldn’t see the guys inside it. I yanked open the door and the unmistakable stench of cigar smoke hit me. There they all were, laughing up a storm and puffing on cigars. It was Fred’s idea, of course.”
Another trip saw seven NAWCC friends and colleagues heading States-side over the Burlington Skyway Bridge. As the loaded vehicle reached the top of the span, Fred (in a pre-planned manoeuvre) began a “rock the boat” interlude. “I was sure I was going to go right into the Bay,” laughs driver Sembay.
Fred Kolishenco’s rollicking sense of humour was well known outside of the clock fraternity too. Another tribute predicts that Fred has “continued his antics with the angels around him.”
His many friends, clients, colleagues and his beloved wife Shirley and daughter Jennifer mourned this “one of a kind” man’s passing.
“He left a twinkle in the eye of everyone who had the pleasure of meeting him,” praised friend Boyd Suttie.
By Nancy Silcox
Nancy Silcox, of New Hamburg, is a former teacher and university counsellor. She has written 14 books, most of them historical biographies.
Sale Details:
Firearms, Sporting & Canadiana
October 9, 2021 | 9am
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