What time is it?
Look closely at this clock made by Harry Mushenheim. He had an old battery operated clock mechanism and his wife, Ceal, found a 12 piece nativity set at a thrift store so he married the two together! Baby Jesus is at 6 o’clock with His parents on either side and the angel above at 12 o’clock. He made a small horizontal shelf for each piece to have a flat surface to glue to the backboard. Ceal cut out the letters freehand, attached them to contact paper and they were glued down. She gave Harry some of her gold trims from sewing projects and he chose one for the border. Harry had to trim the two metal hands and position the figures so the hands didn’t get stuck on the figures as they moved by. He made a display stand for the clock to rest in. Cleverly, a beautiful nativity clock was created in a “timely” manner.
Harry was the mastermind and main craftsman of the majority of settings in the University of Dayton collection. Unfortunately, the UD creche workshop closed at the start of the pandemic but more than a year and a half later, Harry is still creating. In addition to the clock, he’s made a few other small settings from nativity sets his wife has picked up at thrift stores and garage sales. She has a great eye for good finds and Harry has a great sense of creativity, design and patience to make some interesting settings.
Michele Devitt
FOTC Board, VP
Dayton, Ohio