The maker of Gastownsa国际传媒檚 famous steam clock says some of the best years of his life were in Surrey.

sa国际传媒淚 lived in Guildford in the mid-1960s,sa国际传媒� Raymond Saunders recalled in a phone call. sa国际传媒淚 was working at the Woodwardsa国际传媒檚 store, where I was in charge of the watch and clock department for a few years before I moved.sa国际传媒�

Little more than a decade later, in 1977, Saunders was commissioned to make the steam clock that would make him famous.

The 46-year-old clock still attracts curious tourists to the corner of Water and Cambie streets, where it stands over a grate thatsa国际传媒檚 part of Vancouversa国际传媒檚 distributed steam-heating system.

On Saturday (April 22), Saunders travelled back to Surrey to see sa国际传媒淛ust Time,sa国际传媒� an art show focused on time and clocks at Newton Cultural Centre. Some of the art was created by Delta-based Theresa Moleski , who incorporated some clock parts from Saunderssa国际传媒� collection.

sa国际传媒淚 bought the two that I like the most, hand-painted art, oil on canvas, and I collect those as a hobby,sa国际传媒� explained Saunders, who lives and still works as a horologist in Richmond, with his Landmark Clocks International.

sa国际传媒淢y office has lots of steam-clock pictures on the walls,sa国际传媒� he added. sa国际传媒淚tsa国际传媒檚 very gratifying how popular itsa国际传媒檚 become in the city, where itsa国际传媒檚 a must-see attraction for tourists, I guess. And I have two of them in Japan, too sa国际传媒� the same model and patterns, and theysa国际传媒檙e more popular than the Gastown one. Sometimes theresa国际传媒檚 a thousand people standing around , and they all clap when it goes off.sa国际传媒�

Four years ago, tens of thousands of dollars were raised for Saunders when he fell off a ladder while working on a clock in Trenant Park Square in Ladner. He landed in hospital with serious injuries, including a broken pelvis, ribs and some vertebrae.

sa国际传媒淩ay has never received royalties from any of the millions of photos, album covers, T-shirts and other things displaying the images of his most famous clock (in Gastown),sa国际传媒� said .

STORY CONTINUES BELOW

I first interviewed Saunders for a story in the WestEnder newspaper in February 1990, when the Gastown clock was just 12 years old.

At the time, Saunders talked about the creation of the $64,000 clock and how it was designed to harness steam. It was a wet September during the installation, and a hut was built to shelter Saunders and crew, but the steam on the plastic ceiling condensed.

sa国际传媒淚t just poured on us,sa国际传媒� Saunders said in 1990. sa国际传媒淚t was raining outside and inside. We had boxes of nuts and bolts that were filled with water.sa国际传媒�

While in Surrey last week, Saunders donated four books about the steam clock to the gallery, which will benefit from sale proceeds.

sa国际传媒淚sa国际传媒檓 83,sa国际传媒� he said, sa国际传媒渁nd Isa国际传媒檓 trying to retire, but itsa国际传媒檚 not easy to retire when you have a long history of doing work for people. I do a lot of work for people who have nice-sized collections of clocks, including some real unusual ones.sa国际传媒�

tom.zillich@surreynowleader.com
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