Dave, I had one too and even a clock with "Glow in the Dark" hands. Dad received a CD (Civil Defense) bright yellow Geiger Counter for when the Russians dropped the Big One and I thought it was really cool when the watch made it click. Then again I loved to play with the shoe store X-ray machine. Thought it was really cool to watch my toes wiggle.
Radium's half-life is 1600 years so it remains a strong beta emitter. Back in the early 1900s the girls who painted the dials were told the paint was harmless and besides licking the brushes they painted it on their teeth, faces, fingernails, belt buckles, etc.
From 1921