Cindy Stumpo’s Gold Clock

Photograph by Jared Kuzia

For Cindy Stumpo, there’s nothing more important than family. That’s part of what makes this more-than-100-year-old gold clock—a gift from her former mother-in-law, Catherine—so special. “It had been in her family for generations,” the Chestnut Hill developer says. “I stare at the clock and think about who’s looked at it and laughed and cried around it [over the years]. My brain goes in so many places.” The still-functioning timepiece, one of the few things Catherine brought with her when she emigrated 70 years ago from Calabria, Italy, now sits prominently alongside other inherited treasures in Stumpo’s home library. “I’ve always been an old soul,” Stumpo says. “My mother-in-law knew I would respect and appreciate the clock. That’s why she wanted me to have it.”

Photograph by Jared Kuzia