The Pantagraph from Bloomington, Illinois • Page 21

Monday, Jan. 22, 1996 The Pantagraph Watkins still ticking a century later from the Twin Cities. "It amazes me. I still have a lot of customers from Bloomington-Normal," he said, adding "It's a good feeling" that they think so much of the work that they'll make the trip. But while the numbers are still there, the focus has changed.

In years past, watch repair was a major part of the business, but that ended when quartz watches replaced mechanical watches. Repairs dropped for a while, but are rebounding a little as quartz watches break down. And while some watchwork is sent out, all the clockwork is done there, as well as 95 percent of jewelry work. As for grandfather clocks, which are among the store's major items, Watkins goes to them. "I'll go anywhere," he said, adding that he's been to St Louis, Chicago and a list of other cities in all directions to fix clocks.

It gets busy, he said, particularly after the Christmas season. Watkins laughs, and adds, "Time on my hands." "It's coming around in a quartz phase instead of a mechanical phase," Watkins said. But it's still not like it used to be. Now, the store gets 10 to 12 watches per week; before it was 40 or 50. Other things haven't changed much.

It's still a family owned operation, with Watkins, his wife, Marilyn, and Steve, his oldest son, as the only employees. And it'll probably stay that way, as Steve, now 35, plans to take over when his father retires. "He's been coming along real good," Watkins said. 1 i 5 1 1 fi 11 Hi r' vW' xl 1 1 Watkins photos W.E Watkins, grandfather of Jerry Watkins, stood in front of his repair business (third building from the right) in Cropsey in this 1890 photo. 1 I- fa i i ii 1 By JIM STAHLY JR.

Pantagraph staff CLINTON Jerry Watkins owns a jewelry store and it runs like clockwork. It's apparent as soon as you enter. Jewelry is displayed in glass cases around the small shop, but along the walls hang softly ticking old and new clocks. Clock sales and repairs, as much as the jewelry, keeps a steady stream of customers coming into Watkins Jewelry Repair on Clinton's downtown square where it's been since 1989. But its mechanism ticks back much further into history.

The business was opened in Cropsey in 1890 by Watkins' grandfather, W.E. Watkins. Back then, though, it wasn't so specialized. "When Grandfather had it, he was a barber and built crystal radios," Watkins said. In addition, the store sold musical instruments.

Around 1900, Watkins said, the store moved to Anchor, where it remained until 1942. Then, when Jerry was 4 years old, it moved to Normal. Even at that point, a browser in the store could find more than just jewelry and clocks. "When Dad first started the store, it was a repair shop," Watkins said. It was World War II, and new items were scarce.

"You couldn't buy anything," he said. To survive, they repaired irons, pans and coffee pots, sharpened lawn mower blades and scrounged at Morris Tick, a scrap iron and metal salvage firm, a practice that has almost but not quite stopped today. It was around that time 1945 or 1946 that W.E. Watkins died, his grandson said. "When Grandpa died, Dad inherited the contents of the store.

At that time, Dad wasn't doing watch-work." So his father, Mel, put all the equipment in the front of the store, and one day, a man came in with a broken pocket watch. Watkins' father replaced the balance staff after working with it a couple of days and charged the man $6 for a job that went for $36 in Bloomington. "Well, I think it's time I started learning to fix watches," Watkins' father said. He started reading repair books and learning from a watchmaker in Bloomington. And his knowledge grew.

"Next thing you know, Dad was teaching him," Watkins said. His father's talents were many, he said, and, in addition to being a prominent watch repairman and auto mechanic, he was good with a lathe and a quick study as a musician. "My dad was a wizard," he said. Watkins bought the store in 1967 after his father's 1966 death, and in 1989 moved the store to Clinton. And in addition to bringing in more business from surrounding areas, people continued to come s--.

i I i ft Of LT. i I 1. dfiri-f Mrai al The PantagraphLORI ANN CCXDK Above, Steve, left, and Jerry Watkins are shown in their store, Watkins Jewelry Repair on Clinton's downtown square where it's been since 1989. Left, Steve Watkins worked on a diamond ring in the Mel Watkins, Jerry Watkins' father, is shown in the doorway of the business in Normal in 1 942, the year it moved from Cropsey. Ti i.

'UU- if k- VJ VI N4. Jerry Watkins is shown in 1967 outside the Normal business, which he bought after his father's death in 1966. He moved the business to Clinton in 1989. Poll: New York streets most expensive LOCALCALENDAR Bloomington-Normal Insurance Association 5:30 p.m. in the banquet room of Central Station, 220 E.

Front Bloomington; guest speaker will be State Rep. Bill Brady R-Bloomington, who will be discussing insurance issues. For more information or reservations, call Cheryl Delong at (309) Paris, where space is a relative bargain at $280 per square foot It moved down two positions from the previous year. Rounding out the rest of the list were: Rue de Rhone in Geneva, seventh, at $275 a square foot, down from sixth place in 1994; Place Vendorne in Paris, eighth at $250 a square foot, not on list in 1994, ranked fifth in 1992; Bond Street in London, ninth at $240 a square foot, down from eighth in 1994; and Orchard Road in Singapore, 10th at $235 a square foot, same as in 1994. Rodeo Drive in Los Angeles, tied for 11th place with Via Condotti in Rome with a rental price of $220 per square foot Rodeo Drive's price decline moved it from seventh in 1994, while Via Condotti was not on the list in 1994, but ranked ninth in 1991.

snatched up at the Warner Brothers Studio Store, was in second place with rent of $440 per square foot That stretch moved up one spot on the list from 1994. Tokyo's Ginza, where rents cost $350 per square foot, boasted the third most pricey rent. It was down from second place in 1994. In fourth place, New York's Madison Avenue between 57th and 69th streets, stores like Armani, Calvin Klein and Donna Karan pushed rents to $300 per square foot, to tie with San Francisco's Union Square area where Post and Stockton streets meet The stretch of Madison Avenue held the fifth-place spot in 1994, while Union Square was new to the list in 1995. In sixth place was the famed Champs Elysee in NEW YORK (AP) Oh sure carats are expensive, but it costs a lot for carrots too.

Stores like Cartier and the Warner Brothers Studio Store have boosted the rent on some New York streets, Imaking them the world's most expensive, a new purvey reports. On Fifth Avenue, where Cartier, Tiffany the Trump Tower stand between 49th Street and 57th Street, retained its No. 1 spot on the list for the second year. Space rented last year for $500 per square foot, according to the survey released by The Hirschfeld Group a retail real estate advisory firm. i And the section of 57th Street between Fifth Avenue and Madison Avenue, where Levi Strauss has a superstore and Bugs Bunny souvenirs can be Illinois Chamber of Commerce 11:30 a.m.

in the Old Main Room at Illinois State University's Bone Student Center; the chamber's annual legislative briefing via satellite; chamber president Sally Jackson and other chamber executives will speak about business-related issues expected to be addressed in the upcoming state legislative session; reservations cost $10. For more information, call the McLean County Chamber of Commerce at (309) 829-6344. International Facility Management Association, Central Illinois Chapter 6:30 p.m. at Jumer's Chateau, 1601 Jumer Drive, Bloomington; officers for the year will be installed and there will be a roundtable discussion. For reservations, call Debbie Wilcox at (309) 663-1835.

A.G. Edwards Sons 6:30 p.m. at Jumer's Chateau, 1601 Jumer Drive, Bloomington; Robert Romano, vice president of Oppenheimer Funds, will speak on "Mutual Fund Opportunities in 1996." Reservations on a first-come, first-served basis at the office, (309) 662-2000. Lexington Chamber of Commerce 6:30 to 9 p.m. at Lexington Library; Jack Hart of J.

Hart Associates will conduct the small-business seminar on "Owning Your Own Business Developing a Business Plan." Other seminars "Budgeting and How to Promote Your Business," Jan. 30; and "Financing Your Business How to Talk To Your Banker," Feb. cost to nonchamber members is $10. For reservations or more information, contact Pati Pease at (309) 365-2911 or Linda Hutchins at (309) 365-7801. MONEY POWER term bond funds or bank certificates of deposit.) Here are simple, conservative model portfolios for each of the three time horizons: Three to five years: Invest 35 percent in Strong Short-Term Bond (800-368-1030), a low-risk fund; 35 percent in Vanguard Total Bond Market (800-635-1511), a bond-index fund; and 30 percent in Fidelity Disciplined Equity (800-544-8888), a large-company fund.

Five to 10 years: Invest 25 percent in Strong Short-Term Bond; 25 percent in Vanguard Total Bond Market; 30 percent in Fidelity Disciplined Equity; and 20 percent in T. Rowe Price International Stock (800-638-5660), a foreign fund. 10 years or more: Invest 15 percent in Strong Short-Term Bond; 15 percent in Vanguard Total Bond Market; 42 percent in Fidelity Disciplined Equity; and 28 percent in T. Rowe Price International Stock. (Risk-tolerant investors can put the bond money into Fidelity Disciplined Equity.) "There are tremendous numbers of people out there who save effectively (which is the hardest part of financial planning) but don't know what to do with the money when they get it," says David Chilton, a financial planner and author of "The Wealthy Barber" (Prima Publishing, 1993).

What often stymies them is the prospect of making an investment: What if its value goes down? What if another investment option goes up more? Is this the right time? The uncertainty can be almost palpable. Here's a simple plan that will help you make investment decisions. Start by setting your goals. Determine your most important goal (for most people it's retirement) and your second most important goal (usually a house or college for your children). Next, determine your time horizons for each goal.

Figure out how much money you'll need in three to five years, five to 10 years and 10 years or more. (People with less than three years before they need their money should generally put most of it in money-market accounts, short- Here's plan to help simplify your investment decisions Eric Fetters, 25, tools around in a 16-year-old Volvo and puts about $100 into the bank every month from his salary as news editor of a weekly newspaper in Florence, on the Oregon coast Unfortunately, Fetters earns virtually nothing on this investment Sometimes he calls mutual-fund companies for information, but when he confronts tables in a prospectus, Fetters flashes back to high school math, which was no fun the first time. "After a while I just click out in frustration," he says. Sound familiar? Bloomington-Normal Area Home Builders Association 6:30 p.m. dinner meeting at Central Station, 220 E.

Front St, Bloomington; Mike Callahan with Bloomington-Normal Water Reclamation District, will be speaker. For more information or reservation, call Julie Beitz by Jan. 22 at 663- 6612. 4. McLean County Chamber of Commerce Home Office Management Executive Committee 7:30 a.m.

in the conference room of the McLean County Chamber of Commerce Building, 210 S. East St, Bloomington; inaugural meeting for the committee, which is for home-based business owners See CALENDAR, next page.