In September 2016, we celebrated a wonderful event in Martini history.

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One hundred years ago, Charles Balzer Martini and his wife, Eva Schwartz Martini, living on their farm on the Northwest corner of Pontius and Rapid Run Roads, presented their oldest son, Joe, a pocket watch to commemorate his 21st birthday. Thus began a tradition: when each of their ten children reached that age, a watch was given to them.

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There were two exceptions. Martha, according to surviving members of the Windholtz family, did not receive a watch as a gift for reasons known only to our ancestors, and Phil turned 21 years old after both his parents had passed away. Epp was the only child to receive a wristwatch.

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All eight watches have been accounted for, which is amazing after all these years. it is obvious the watches were treasured as evidenced by their condition, excluding wear and tear, and by the fact they all have been handed down to succeeding generations.

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The watches are all shown in the photo gallery above, compliments of Charles J. Martini and are reused with permission.

All content, photographs and artwork included in the gallery are copyrighted and cannot be copied, modified, reused or otherwise without express written permission from Charles J. Martini.