It runs really well. I still need to replace the regulator spring, but the dial and movements are matching and in fine shape. Dial has a flea bite.

Without the bezel

Movement

Now, is that P.O. Borg, or P.A. Borg? The town is Heppner, OR which is very small in North Eastern Oregon.

Nice PL watch, chief.

kh

That would be P.O. Borg. Take a look at the 3rd column second paragraph of this "The Jewelers' Circular" from November of 1899.

Jewelers Circular

Mike,
Very nice PL watch. Wish it was mine///////
Tony

Thanks Ron. I'll visit Heppner soon and see if the building is still standing. P.O. Had more room after 1899, just no customers now!

sweet watch all looks crisp on it

Good work Ron and a nice watch Mike.

Mike,

This is an awesome site i found that you can search for the name Borg and see lots of interesting newspaper articles about P.O. and his family. I searched the 4 newspapers from Heppner and found over 800 hits on the name Borg. It has scans of newspapers in Oregon from 1846 to 1973.

Oregon News

I checked it out. Interestingly enough, the Dec. 17, 1903 edition makes no mention of the Wright Brothers in Kill Devil Hills flying a heavier than air machine! Good reading. There was another watchmaker in town, Arthur Smith, who would clean your watch for $1.50 and fit a new mainspring for $1.50 as well. Guaranteed for a year. P.O. Borg mainly advertises his eyeglasses, jewelry, musical instruments and clocks and watches at prices favorable to any purse. With land at $1.25 per acre and butter at $.25 lb. he would do well charging little!

I read through quite a few as well, and found it very interesting as to what was reported in a newspaper at the time. Things like, P.O. Borg and his wife returned from their trip to Portland this week. Their son Oscar was presented with a gold watch from the trip that he will truly enjoy. Makes you think about how close communities were then versus now.

Yes Ron, I noticed the same thing. Newsworthy items were somewhat anecdotal about the community and often not what we call news today. I looked in the Dec. 24th paper and still no news about the first flight. I suppose it took quite a while for national news to reach a place like Heppner. When such information finally came it would probably not be believed by many.

I'll go through Heppner in July as a detour on a trip to see grandkids. It will be interesting to see what is still standing today. The P.O. Borg jewelry store went early I believe. P.O. died in 1920 and his son went off to Missoula MT shortly thereafter to pursue a better jewelry "gig".

Yea, I read that both P.O and i think his son Oscar were Mayor of Heppner at one point, and the community was rather shocked when Oscar left to go to Missoula to hook up with his brother in the jewelry biz. That or maybe Oscar was a Mayoral candidate and he dropped out to move, that might have been it with him.

I can find no other references to the Garrigues building that P.O. bought and moved the business to in 1899. There is a Garrigues St in Heppner where there are some apartments and such it looked like, so that may be what became of it. Either way it would be interesting to drive through and take a look. Good luck!