Before our European holiday a few years ago, I had thought a lot about Swiss clocks.
We have one that is solar-powered and another that graces our mantle, but I had never before thought about Swiss locks. However, it seems that if you work for a lock company long enough you can’t help it: you begin to notice the hardware on the doors you walk through. You wince when door handles droop, you identify manufacturers of exit devices as you press the pushbar, and disparage door closers that need adjustment.
So, while my husband and I enjoyed coffee and croissants in the café of a lovely Lucerne hotel, the Swiss locksmith, pictured here, repaired a loose lever lock. We watched as he skillfully took the lock apart, made adjustments, then reassembled it on the glass-paneled door. He agreed to be photographed, but kept working. A craftsman doesn’t slow down to smile for tourists.
Photos of locks, locksmiths, lock shops, lock shop trucks, and, in one case, a lock shop bus (see below), fill a file in my desk. Only a few are from my camera. The rest of the collection comes from fellow employees who can’t resist capturing images of the familiar elements of their vocation while on vacation. And I know from other blogs, in particular the idighardware.com blog, that Anderson Lock people aren’t the only lock paparazzis.
It does make me wonder if glaziers take pictures of windows wherever they go,
and if roofers are shutterbugs for shingles.
A previous blog featured photos of lock shops and trucks that John Didier took while traveling in Norway. Look for more in future posts.
Seems we never completely take a vacation from our vocation!
