Imagine it is two hundred years ago. A British ship is sailing in the Hammer waters near Bornholm. The ship is stranded and all the crew members drown in the rough waters. Karl Anker, a man who lives in Bornholm, comes across a clock made of brass. It has washed up on shore and it’s little destroyed, but still assembled enough for Anker to sketch a quick drawing of the mechanics of the clock. He then went home to build three clocks, all very similar to the one he found on the ship. Anker’s son, also named Karl Anker, made a factory for the Ankers to build clocks.
Now we will skip through time to 1883, when William Thorsen was born. He married Thora Vest Thorsen, who gave birth to Holger Thorsen. Holger Thorsen married Mildith Kamilla Hansen Thorsen in 1937. Holger and Mildith bought a big, beautiful farm. In 1940, German Nazis invaded Denmark, and they stayed there for five years. In 1945, Germany collapsed and the world was free of Hitler. Denmark celebrated freedom! But Bornholm wasn't liberated. Then Karl Anker got information that Russia was planning to bomb cities in Bornholm. Holger and Mildith invited Anker, his wife, and his nine kids to take refuge at their farm just outside the city. Then it happened. On May 11, 1945, Bornholm got bombed by the Russians. The Soviet Army sent in some troops, and they stayed there for one year. Karl Anker was very grateful to Mildith and Holger for caring for his family while the Russians were bombing. Every year on May 11, he sent Mildith blood-red roses to thank her for her help.
Holger and Mildith had a child named Ralf Thorsen in 1947. When Ralf was 14 years old he went to work at Gronbeck for two months, but it wasn’t for him. His father went to Karl Anker and asked if he could find a job for Ralf. Ralf became an apprentice to Anker as a blacksmith, and he worked for four years in that job. Then he came to America in 1974 after finishing his schooling. The day after he got to New Jersey he met Frances Irene Flynn. They got married in 1976, and had a son named Jens Holger Thorsen in 1978. Then in 1980, they had another son named Andreas Holger Thorsen. Ralf began to miss his hometown, so he took Jens, Andreas, and Frances and they went to Denmark over the summer.
They stayed with Mildith, and Ralf took Jens to see where he used to work and to meet Karl Anker. At the time, Anker was 99 and had retired. After his retirement he had built 14 clocks, all hanging in his room. When he met Jens, he liked him a lot, so he decided to bring Ralf and Jens to his house. It was the first time Ralf had ever been in the Anker house, and it was like a castle. Anker let them up steps and steps of stairs until they finally reached the attic. They followed him into a little room, with 14 clocks hanging on the wall. As Jens and Ralf were admiring the clocks on the wall, Anker offered one to them. This was a large surprise because Anker clocks were never given to people outside the family! Ralf was overjoyed, and they accepted. They took it home, proud to have an Anker clock.
In 2006, Jens Thorsen married Rebecca Pangborn, and in 2009 they had a child named Camilla Thorsen. Then in 2013 they had a little boy named Holger Thorsen. The clock Jens and Ralf took home was given to Jens and Becca in 2006. They had to get a wooden case, paint it, and assemble all the pieces, but now it is a beautiful grandfather clock.
The clock in Rebecca and Jens’s house is one of the last remaining Anker clocks. After Karl Anker retired, his sons were unable to pick up the business. The Ankers had made clocks for 200 years, but no one would ever do it like they did.
Thanks to Ralph Thorsen for sharing this story with me!!