Elder Compton, a man I consider a giant among our people, suffered a massive stroke this past Thursday. The doctors at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore have given him no hope of recovery. He is not able to see, speak or move much. He was able to nod his head "yes" or "no" and communicate, but is now having difficulty doing that. At the present he is home, resting until the Lord calls him to his eternal home.
Each time a person of such age, wisdom, stature and grace nears the end of their course, I find much to lament. The world is so void of godly wisdom, and when one such as Elder Compton departs, we lose a great deal of godly, Biblical wisdom from which to receive good counsel.
Elder Compton worked for many years as a watchmaker and jeweler in Washington, D.C. His store was in the 1700 block of G Street NW in Washington, only a block from the White House. The Old Executive Office Building was the only thing that stood in the way of a wonderful view of the President's house.
(Elder Compton with his son, Alan, who now own and operates the store, and Elder Compton's grandson, Craig.)
Each time a person of such age, wisdom, stature and grace nears the end of their course, I find much to lament. The world is so void of godly wisdom, and when one such as Elder Compton departs, we lose a great deal of godly, Biblical wisdom from which to receive good counsel.
Elder Compton worked for many years as a watchmaker and jeweler in Washington, D.C. His store was in the 1700 block of G Street NW in Washington, only a block from the White House. The Old Executive Office Building was the only thing that stood in the way of a wonderful view of the President's house.
(Elder Compton with his son, Alan, who now own and operates the store, and Elder Compton's grandson, Craig.)A newspaper ran an editorial about Elder Compton in 1977, this above picture was taken from that piece. I'll include the article:
Jim Compton is the man who got the Presidents to their appointments on time, even though he was never known as a White House insider.
He worked on their watches at his Washington, D. C., jewelry store, which is located less than a city block from the White House.
Compton went to Washington from his father's farm near Amity Hill in Iredell County 50 years ago, and he began working on the Presidents' watches along about the time Herbert Hoover took office.
"We did a lot of work for Presidents Johnson and Truman," Compton said from his Washington, D C., home in a telephone interview. "They didn't come in personally but they sent work m. They had a clock man at the White House but he didn't take care of watches and fine jewelry. He only took care of clocks and easy work, like large watches. He didn't work on complicated watches."
Compton and his brother, Howard, operated Compton's Jewelers at the corner of Pennsylvania Avenue and 17th Street. The shop, now operated by Compton's son, Allan, and his grandson, Craig, is just a hop and a skip from the center of things in Washington and it naturally draws politicians off the street.
The shop also has an established reputation for good work. Even when he refused to bid on wholesale government jobs during the 40s and 50s, the government chose his shop for clock repair work in the Capitol, state department and other branches of government.
"We had more work than we could handle because of more trade coming in from the street," Compton said. "We didn't need the wholesale work. The government sent out bid sheets every six months and we didn't bid but they fixed us up with approved bids. They knew our work."
The Compton brothers' shop cared for the clocks in the Capitol for years in this way. "There were hundreds of clocks in the Capitol," Compton said. "Each Congressman and Senator had a clock in his office. We would go with our truck and take as many as two loads a day in for repairs. It took us weeks to work those over. Most all of the clocks then were very fine, weight-driven Seth Thomas clocks.
"And over the Speaker's desk was a clock with a 30-inch plate glass dial. The movement was built in the dial." That clock faced a twin across the room from it, Compton said. “And when they did the dome over, I kept those two clocks in my basement. That was in the '50s.”
“And believe it or not, they junked those clocks and put up electric clocks. Somebody wanted the accuracy of electric docks. Those very fine clocks didn't mean anything to them. I was told they went for junk. Some people today would give their right arms for those clocks. They had handmade brass cases and were put in when the Capitol was built. They had special plate glass hand-made dials.”
Compton, now 72 and doing a little Baptist preaching in his retirement, still mourns their loss and the loss of all the other weight-driven clocks in the Capitol. "After we stopped repairing them, it was hard to get anyone to repair them right, so they replaced them," he said. "They had to be wound once a week. I understand they were thrown out on a scrap heap but they would bring a fancy price today."
Although Compton has worked on the watches of several Presidents during the last half-century, he says you can't tell much about a President by his watch.
"Some of them had pretty fine watches," he said. "President Johnson had extremely fine foreign made watches. They were Swiss made and sold for $1,600. And President Eisenhower, the watch he used was a 17-jewel which sold for about $35 then."
Another "star customer" was General John Pershing, the World War I hero. "He was a collector of fine watches and clocks," said Compton. "He had work at the shop almost constantly."
Field Marshal (Bernard) Montgomery of England once brought his watch by the shop before he went to a conference in the White House with President Roosevelt, Compton recalled. "We did work for General Eisenhower before he was President, and he brought Field Marshal Montgomery in when he was here from England during the war. We had the radio on in the store and were listening to the report of the generals landing. The radio said they were on their way to the White House and the next thing we knew they were in the store."
Compton and his brother, who now lives in Hyattsville, Md., went to Washington in 1927 because they had relatives there. His mother, Mae Compton, is 92 and lives near Troutman so he returns here as often as he can. There are also relatives in the Troutman and Amity Hill sections of Iredell and in western Rowan County. His first job was in the Troutman Cotton Mill, but both brothers decided to stay in Washington in the '20s to work for a jeweler, Frischkneckt Watchmakers. They bought the shop five years later. The business thrived and soon they employed eight men and had a repair truck on the street, Compton said.
The two brothers learned their trade back on the farm in Iredell County by disobeying their father, Compton said. "My brother, Will, was just a tot and he found a watch somebody had lost In the woods." it was about to go up in flames on a brush fire when Will picked it up and "was almost melted down," Compton recalled. "My father took it to Statesviile for repairs but the man never found the trouble. It never worked properly.
"My father put the watch above the fireplace on a nail, way up high so we couldn't reach it," he said. "But we got it down and took it apart and fixed it. We made a part for it with a sewing needle by grinding the needle down and we got it running.
"My father then allowed us to trade it off for a gold watch and we got $3 to boot. We got that little gold watch running and we traded that for a motorcycle. Our ambition was to get some tools and a workbench to work on watches and clocks.
"There was a widow in Statesville and her husband had been a watchmaker. Our hope was to get his workbench and tools. We traded the motorcycle for enough junk to build an automobile and we traded that automobile to her for the tools and bench. We had heard she wanted a car to go to work.
"I was 17 years old then and my brother was 15 months younger."
That was the beginning, and looking back on his life, Compton remembers the challenges of repairing various watches better than he remembers the famous men who wore them. "It was not something you make a fantastic amount of money doing," Compton said, "but it's challenging."
Jim Compton is the man who got the Presidents to their appointments on time, even though he was never known as a White House insider.
He worked on their watches at his Washington, D. C., jewelry store, which is located less than a city block from the White House.
Compton went to Washington from his father's farm near Amity Hill in Iredell County 50 years ago, and he began working on the Presidents' watches along about the time Herbert Hoover took office.
"We did a lot of work for Presidents Johnson and Truman," Compton said from his Washington, D C., home in a telephone interview. "They didn't come in personally but they sent work m. They had a clock man at the White House but he didn't take care of watches and fine jewelry. He only took care of clocks and easy work, like large watches. He didn't work on complicated watches."
Compton and his brother, Howard, operated Compton's Jewelers at the corner of Pennsylvania Avenue and 17th Street. The shop, now operated by Compton's son, Allan, and his grandson, Craig, is just a hop and a skip from the center of things in Washington and it naturally draws politicians off the street.
CLOCK REPAIRS
The shop also has an established reputation for good work. Even when he refused to bid on wholesale government jobs during the 40s and 50s, the government chose his shop for clock repair work in the Capitol, state department and other branches of government.
"We had more work than we could handle because of more trade coming in from the street," Compton said. "We didn't need the wholesale work. The government sent out bid sheets every six months and we didn't bid but they fixed us up with approved bids. They knew our work."
The Compton brothers' shop cared for the clocks in the Capitol for years in this way. "There were hundreds of clocks in the Capitol," Compton said. "Each Congressman and Senator had a clock in his office. We would go with our truck and take as many as two loads a day in for repairs. It took us weeks to work those over. Most all of the clocks then were very fine, weight-driven Seth Thomas clocks.
"And over the Speaker's desk was a clock with a 30-inch plate glass dial. The movement was built in the dial." That clock faced a twin across the room from it, Compton said. “And when they did the dome over, I kept those two clocks in my basement. That was in the '50s.”
JUNKED FINE CLOCKS
“And believe it or not, they junked those clocks and put up electric clocks. Somebody wanted the accuracy of electric docks. Those very fine clocks didn't mean anything to them. I was told they went for junk. Some people today would give their right arms for those clocks. They had handmade brass cases and were put in when the Capitol was built. They had special plate glass hand-made dials.”
Compton, now 72 and doing a little Baptist preaching in his retirement, still mourns their loss and the loss of all the other weight-driven clocks in the Capitol. "After we stopped repairing them, it was hard to get anyone to repair them right, so they replaced them," he said. "They had to be wound once a week. I understand they were thrown out on a scrap heap but they would bring a fancy price today."
Although Compton has worked on the watches of several Presidents during the last half-century, he says you can't tell much about a President by his watch.
"Some of them had pretty fine watches," he said. "President Johnson had extremely fine foreign made watches. They were Swiss made and sold for $1,600. And President Eisenhower, the watch he used was a 17-jewel which sold for about $35 then."
Another "star customer" was General John Pershing, the World War I hero. "He was a collector of fine watches and clocks," said Compton. "He had work at the shop almost constantly."
Field Marshal (Bernard) Montgomery of England once brought his watch by the shop before he went to a conference in the White House with President Roosevelt, Compton recalled. "We did work for General Eisenhower before he was President, and he brought Field Marshal Montgomery in when he was here from England during the war. We had the radio on in the store and were listening to the report of the generals landing. The radio said they were on their way to the White House and the next thing we knew they were in the store."
Compton and his brother, who now lives in Hyattsville, Md., went to Washington in 1927 because they had relatives there. His mother, Mae Compton, is 92 and lives near Troutman so he returns here as often as he can. There are also relatives in the Troutman and Amity Hill sections of Iredell and in western Rowan County. His first job was in the Troutman Cotton Mill, but both brothers decided to stay in Washington in the '20s to work for a jeweler, Frischkneckt Watchmakers. They bought the shop five years later. The business thrived and soon they employed eight men and had a repair truck on the street, Compton said.
DISOBEYED FATHER
The two brothers learned their trade back on the farm in Iredell County by disobeying their father, Compton said. "My brother, Will, was just a tot and he found a watch somebody had lost In the woods." it was about to go up in flames on a brush fire when Will picked it up and "was almost melted down," Compton recalled. "My father took it to Statesviile for repairs but the man never found the trouble. It never worked properly.
"My father put the watch above the fireplace on a nail, way up high so we couldn't reach it," he said. "But we got it down and took it apart and fixed it. We made a part for it with a sewing needle by grinding the needle down and we got it running.
"My father then allowed us to trade it off for a gold watch and we got $3 to boot. We got that little gold watch running and we traded that for a motorcycle. Our ambition was to get some tools and a workbench to work on watches and clocks.
"There was a widow in Statesville and her husband had been a watchmaker. Our hope was to get his workbench and tools. We traded the motorcycle for enough junk to build an automobile and we traded that automobile to her for the tools and bench. We had heard she wanted a car to go to work.
"I was 17 years old then and my brother was 15 months younger."
That was the beginning, and looking back on his life, Compton remembers the challenges of repairing various watches better than he remembers the famous men who wore them. "It was not something you make a fantastic amount of money doing," Compton said, "but it's challenging."
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Elder Compton once related a story to me about Ambassador Joseph Kennedy, the father of President John F. Kennedy. When Elder Compton bought the store, the previous owner left an antiquated clock hanging on a wall. The clock didn't work, but one day Joe Kennedy came in the store and wanted to buy the clock for his son's (John F's) 17th birthday. Elder Compton told him the clock didn't work and wasn't for sale. However, Kennedy convinced him to sell him the clock. Elder Compton went over it and got the clock working, but didn't guarantee the work for he feared it would soon break.
Sure enough, a few days later Kennedy called demanding the Elder Compton come fix the clock. Elder Compton arrived in the Kennedy home and tried to repair it, but couldn't. So he took it to his store. Upon further review he learned it could not be repaired so he contacted Kennedy and offered his money back. Joe Kennedy then came in the store with his attorney and proceeded to give Elder Compton a good tongue lashing with all sorts of profanity. Kennedy then threatened to file suit and turned the matter over to his attorney. The attorney listed to Elder Compton's side of the story and turned to Kennedy and said, "you haven't got a case." Joe Kennedy fired the attorney in front of Elder Compton and stormed out of the store.
When I asked Elder Compton what he did or thought, he simply said, "Mr. Kennedy wasn't a very nice man."
More than the interesting people and events Elder Compton saw in Washington, his chief joy was the house of God. He related to me that his most joyous time was pastoring the old London Tract Church. Sorrowfully, he had to resign its care when he fell from a tree while cutting limbs on the property of the church. He broke both arms and couldn't get around well. He was about 75-80 when that happened.
Since he turned 99, Elder Compton has been blessed to travel to at least a dozen states on preaching trips with Elder Steven Bloyd. About three weeks ago they flew to Arkansas and Elder Compton preached twice! All this at age 102.
Elder Compton's ministry was one of integrity, and of working hard for peace in the churches. He is one of the finest men I know, and I sorrow his illness, and I pray our Lord will quickly come and relieve him his suffering.
I never met Sister Compton, I met Elder Compton just a few months after her death. However, I look forward to meeting her in heaven, and enjoy getting to know her there with our Lord.
I ask all to join in prayer for Elder Compton, that the Lord will bless him with peace and rest until He takes Him home, and that He will do that soon.
Written in love and respect for a "prince and great man...in Israel."
Sure enough, a few days later Kennedy called demanding the Elder Compton come fix the clock. Elder Compton arrived in the Kennedy home and tried to repair it, but couldn't. So he took it to his store. Upon further review he learned it could not be repaired so he contacted Kennedy and offered his money back. Joe Kennedy then came in the store with his attorney and proceeded to give Elder Compton a good tongue lashing with all sorts of profanity. Kennedy then threatened to file suit and turned the matter over to his attorney. The attorney listed to Elder Compton's side of the story and turned to Kennedy and said, "you haven't got a case." Joe Kennedy fired the attorney in front of Elder Compton and stormed out of the store.
When I asked Elder Compton what he did or thought, he simply said, "Mr. Kennedy wasn't a very nice man."
More than the interesting people and events Elder Compton saw in Washington, his chief joy was the house of God. He related to me that his most joyous time was pastoring the old London Tract Church. Sorrowfully, he had to resign its care when he fell from a tree while cutting limbs on the property of the church. He broke both arms and couldn't get around well. He was about 75-80 when that happened.
Since he turned 99, Elder Compton has been blessed to travel to at least a dozen states on preaching trips with Elder Steven Bloyd. About three weeks ago they flew to Arkansas and Elder Compton preached twice! All this at age 102.
Elder Compton's ministry was one of integrity, and of working hard for peace in the churches. He is one of the finest men I know, and I sorrow his illness, and I pray our Lord will quickly come and relieve him his suffering.
Elder Compton was married to his wife, Sister Becie for over 75 years. They were an exceptional example of a Christian husband and wife. They were faithful in their love and kindness to one another. Elder Compton said they both agreed before marriage that they'd never argue or fight, and the Lord blessed them to keep that promise. They disagreed, but would take time alone to calmly collect themselves, they'd work through whatever problems there were in peace and love.
I never met Sister Compton, I met Elder Compton just a few months after her death. However, I look forward to meeting her in heaven, and enjoy getting to know her there with our Lord.
I ask all to join in prayer for Elder Compton, that the Lord will bless him with peace and rest until He takes Him home, and that He will do that soon.
Written in love and respect for a "prince and great man...in Israel."
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