Hans Kober
1410AM Radio Personality
1976 - 1981
Welcome to the sound of central Ohio, 1410 AM "The River." Today's program is an encore presentation of a segment that originally aired on Saturday, January 20th, 1979 from the Hans Kober series "Everyday History: Craftsmen in Time." Listen as Hans speaks with three talented regional craftsmen from the Ohio River Valley, each with a unique skill and insight in to the history of their crafts and our rich cultural heritage. Callers also contributed their questions and opinions along the way, so enjoy this piece of our station's archive, right here on 1410 AM "The River", all talk, all the time.
(Kober Intro plays)
Hans Kober - Welcome to the Hans Kober Hour, I'm Hans Kober and this is Talk Time. As always the phone lines are open for your participation this next hour, where we'll be talking with three individuals that embody what I believe to be the spirit of true craftsmanship in America today. Our society today is steadily shifting away from the mentality of quality and craftsmanship to a mentality of disposability. Buy it, break it, pitch it. When I was growing up, when something broke, it was taken to the repairman, but nowadays, we just buy a new one-who cares that the landfill is getting fuller every day? Or that our dollars are going to Japan or some other place? Believe me, there is a real need to look at where we're heading as a society. Which brings me to our guests today. I found three local businessmen I think embody the sense of pride, skill, and American can-do attitude that made this country, and state, great! Our first guest this hour is someone I met a few years ago and I'm so glad I did. Please welcome Mr. Alvin Malnik, clock maker, clock repair expert, and cookoo clock aficionado. Welcome to the show, Al.
Alvin Malnik - Thanks Hans. Glad to be here, and I couldn't help but notice you have brought a clock today that I am very familiar with!
Hans Kober - Yes I did, and I realize that the listening audience can't see what we are referring to, so why don't you explain to them what exactly I have here on my console.
Alvin Malnik - What we have here is a piece of German and American history, a mid-1800's Schilduhr cookoo clock from the Black Forest. It is a beautiful piece. There is a good story behind this clock. Does it still work?
Hans Kober - Of course it works. I didn't break it again. Just give me a second to turn the hands forward a bit...
(Clock chimes - Cookoo, cookoo!)
Alvin Malnik - Ah so, wonderful! I'm glad you have been taking care of it. This clock was almost destroyed by Hans and his phobias.
Hans Kober - Ok, ok. Not my phobias, my wife's phobias. Here's what happened. A few summers back, we got a bat in our house. My wife is deathly afraid of bats, mice, roaches, spiders, you name it. I was reading after dinner one night while Julia was straightening up around the house. So all of a sudden I hear a blood-curdling scream from my study, so I'm off like a shot to see what's the matter. When I run in, there is my wife hiding under my desk screaming "Kill it! Kill it!" and a bat flying circuits from corner to corner of my study. I instinctively grabbed her dust mop from the floor and start swinging it around to swat the bat.
Alvin Malnik - And you nearly destroyed a beautiful clock. It was a pretty good whack that you gave it.
Hans Kober - But somehow you were able to put it all back together, which I must say was a true testament to your skills. It was lucky for me that you had just opened your clock repair shop downtown, otherwise I'm not sure where I could have taken it. Tell us all a little about how you got in to the clock business.
Alvin Malnik - Well, I was pretty much born in to it. My father was a clock maker in Bavaria, as was his father and his father before him. Since I was a little boy I remember being in my father's shop sweeping or I would help around out front in the store with my mother. Apparently I was a pretty good salesman.