|
In 1967 I made a career decision to leave the
electronics industry and Collins Electronics to
attend college and pursue a career in education.
This was also the year when I acquired and
repaired my first antique clock. With limited
income, and the expenses of college ahead, money
was pretty tight, so I started a little part-time
business that I called Greenfield
Enterprises. Direct dial telephone
service was relatively new and the phone company
designated the Trappe Md. Exchange as
"Greenfield-6" or "GR6",
which corresponds to the 476-, which is still in
use today. A street was also renamed
"Greenfield Avenue", so
"Greenfield" seemed like a good name
for my business as well.
The business at this point was mostly confined
to subcontract assembly of electronic circuit
boards for Fisher Mfg. Co., Seaford Delaware,
refurbishing and selling used bicycles, and
repairing an occasional radio or "whatever
got in the way". By 1972 the ten-speed
bicycle craze was in full bloom and I had taken
on selling and servicing a line of "better
quality" Japanese bicycles. I developed a
reputation for quality work and reasonable
prices. The bigger shops in the next town would
even send me some of their more challenging
repairs. The bike shop had been good to me, but
after graduating, and securing a teaching
position, I soon realized that there just was not
enough time to do both, so the retail business
was closed.
Greenfield Enterprises continued, largely out
of the public eye, as the contract operator for
the local municipal water system until I left the
teaching profession in 1990. At that time,
Greenfield Enterprises also began performing
mechanical maintenance, welding, and food
processing machine restoration for a local
canning factory and equipment exporter. The
canning industry in this area was in decline and
the factory was eventually forced to closed, and
the city gave the utility operation contract to a
large corporation, so in 2004, being eligible for
Social Security and a small teacher's
pension, I retired.
Retirement is fine, but the pay is poor, and
too much time with too little to do does not
appeal to me, so Greenfield Enterprises is back,
now offering quality clock repair at reasonable
prices. The business is now focused almost
entirely on clock repair, but I still sell a few
odds and ends on eBay. My shop and office are
located in my home In Trappe, Maryland where I
have lived since 1949.
The business is still licensed in the State of
Maryland as Greenfield Enterprises, and
payments may be made to that name, but beginning
in 2009, the clock repair business has been
promoted as Greenfield Clock Shop.
Thank you for your interest in Greenfield
Enterprises and the Greenfield Clock Shop.
Robert Croswell, Owner
 
|