THE MAGAZINE OF THE B ARRE GRANITE ASSOCIATION

B A R R E

WINTER

1998 •

VOLUME

27 •

NUMBER

1

Rock of Ages Corporation Seal mark Blue Gray 18-0 feature column memorial manufactured by Rock of Ages Corporation for Christiansen & Sons, Inc., Montgomeryville, Pa.

Barre Granite Association

BAR R E

W I NTE R

1998 •

VOLUME

27 '

U .. 8ER

51 Church Street, Box 481 Barre, VT 05641 -0481 802-476-41 31 • FAX: 802-476-4765

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Contents

1998 BARRE GRANITE AsSOCIATION OFFICERS

WINTER

Robert Couture President Kerry Zorzi Treasurer John P. Castaldo Assistant Treasurer 1998 BARRE GRANITE AsSOCIATION TRUSTEES Randy Carbonneau Hillside Stone Products Robert Couture Family Memorials, Inc. David LaCroix LaCross Memorials, Inc. Brice Mugford Peerless Granite Company Mark Gherardi Rock of Ages Corporation Kerry Zorzi Adams Granite Company Forrest Rouelle Granite Industries of Vermont 1998 BARRE GRANITE AsSOCIATION STAFF

John P. Castaldo Manager of Finance & Administration Gary Watson Manager of Member Services ancy Blodgett Office Manager BARRE liFE EDITOR

Patrick Timothy Mullikin

BA RRE LIFE • WI NTE R 1998

1998

Soul of Vermont Monument To Vermont 's Unknown Soldier 4

A New National Monument Women In Military Service For America (WIMSA)

6

Upkeeping With The Joneses Barre Granite Center & Heritage Museum Update

8

Association News • People • Places • Events Meet Maurice "Reese" Fortier Meet Nancy Blodgett New Trustee Forrest Rouelle AMA Technology Tour Stop: Barre Rock of Ages New Sales Office BGA's 1997 Holiday Dinner Dance

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BGA Membership Directory Voting, Associate Plus, Associate & Supporting

23

Barre Granite Shop Granite & Novelty Items, Sales Aids, Brochures, Videos, Etc.

About Our Covers: The winter sun casts dramatic shadows on these classic Barre Gray granite memorials at Barre' s Hope Cemetery late one December afternoon.

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"When you go home Tell them of us and say: For your tomorrow We gave our today.

OU 0 Vermo t early 225 years ago, a Revolutionary \-Var oldier. thirsty and on his way back home from battle. topped \: ith another comrade by a stream in the hill of PI mouth. \ t. . for a drink of water. That drink wa hi last. Hi cau e of death was and remains a my tery. He wa buried on a nearby knoll located one-third mile from a branch of Vermont' hi toric Crown Point Military Road. (The road, built from 1759 to 1760, stretches from the east side of the state to Lake Champlain. It is dotted . with the graves of other soldiers. During the French and Indian Wars, the 77-mile road was traveled by soldiers heading to trategic positions at Fort Ticonderoga and Crown Point, N.Y. ) On Oct. 19, 1935, a group of Boy Scouts confirmed the grave site and erected a wooden marker nearby. The Daughters of the American Revolution also placed a marker and flag at the head of the grave. In 1995, the Vermont State Legislature 2

BARRE LIFE • WINTER 1998

Chaplain (Major) Charles M. Purinton, Jr., Vermont National Guard chaplain (left): "He was doing his duty, like Vermonters ever since. "

pas ed a resolution designating the ite as the Grave of Vermont's Unknown Soldier. Thi de ignation honors Vermont oldier of all wars who did not return home, said Rep. John . Iurph#'. D-Ludlow, who introdu ed the re olution in the Hou e: finall . on July 4, 1997, the ite w formall y dedicated with a granite memorial during ceremonie ondu ted by Major General artha T. Rain ilie, the state adjutant general. Chaplain (Major Charle M. Purinton, Jr., Vermont ational BARRE LIFE • WINTER 1998

Guard chaplain, who delivered the invocation and benediction during the ceremony, also authored the stone's inscription. The stone, a simple colonialstyle tablet of steeled Barre Gray granite, was fabricated and donated by BGA member-firm Peerless Granite Company. In keeping with the style of the times, the stone's lettering and design are simple, almost austere. Another BGA member, Associate Plus Member Granite Corporation of Barre, offered its expertise by providing instruc-

tions on how to pour the foundation and set the stone. The stone was set by volunteers. The grave of the unknown soldier is located off Vermont 103, about one-half mile northeast of Lake Ninevah and just north of the Mount Holly-Plymouth line. It is on land owned by the Wilderness Corporation, a Vermont conservation group, and borders the Calvin Coolidge State Forest. The site was selected because of its setting and because of the tale surrounding the death of this particular soldier. 3

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nation's newest memorial, the Women in Military Service For America Memorial (WIMSA), was dedicated Oct.l8, 1997, at the ceremonial entrance to Arlington National Cemetery, one of the nation's most historic and sacred sites. It is the nation's the first major memorial to honor the women who have served in the armed forces, dedicated to all eras and to every 4

BARRE LIFE' • WINTER 199

(Clockwise) Gran ite Importers' Sandy Colgan, next to the curved gallery wall of Imperial Danby marble; a floor of polished Jet Mist . gran ite; Gran ite Importers' Jake Colgan, Jim Totaro, Dave Fournier and Sandy Colgan at the Jet Mist trou gh.

branch of the service. WIMSA's construction began by fIrst remo ing the earth behind a 65year-old marble retaining wall. Next, a .000- quare foot building was formed behind it, the most prominent feature of wbi h i a 28-foot tall curved wall of Imperial Danby marble quarried in errnont and fabricated b ' BGA member Granite Importer . Inc. 0 ern ial to the was this all that memorial ' u the architects Weiss- anfredi. made

BA RR E L I FE • WIN TER 1998

several trips to Barre to ensure that the 10,400-square feet of marble used had the perfect color and hone. Inside the memorial are various rooms, a 250-seat auditorium and a computer room containing computerized information on individual veterans. Granite Importers also fabricated some 17,000 square feet of Jet Mist granite used in the court of honor with its circular reflecting pool (opposite page) and surrounding granite benches, paving and trough.

The fum also fabricated interior paving, base, countertops, threshold and register desk, and the paving, curbing, bollards, treads and benches on the terrace overlooking Arlington National Cemetery. This is the second national monument fabricated by the Barre company: In 1990, Granite Importers manufactured the

National Civil Rights Memorial located in Birmingham, Ala., which was designed by Maya Lin who also designed the Vietnam Wall. 5

Upkeeping ith The Jonese By Marcia Davis, Co-Chairperson Barre Granite Center & Heritage Museum n Oct. 10, 1997, the Barre Granite Center and Heritage Museum took one step clo er to becoming a reality with the purchase of the hi tori Jone Brothers plant (pictured at right). Built at the tum of the century, the Jones Brothers plant grew to be known. at one time, as the largest granite manufacturing plant in the world with 300 employees. Numerous world-cla granite products were produced at the plant, including the columns for the St. John Cathedral; the Green Beret Memorial, dedicated by John Wayne; the Brigham Young Memorial; and the Firestone and Woolrich family memorial . The site was selected after an extensive earch becau e of its historic value, visibility, function, size, proximity to the railroad, downtown and parking. Future plan include a link to both downtown Barre and Montpelier ia the Washington County Railroad, the Central Vermont Bike Path and buses. Attendance is estimated at 100,000 i itors a year, with an indirect economic benefit in area retail ales of $1 million a year. Interpretation of the site and building adds an authenticity and history of its own to the already unique and rich history of Barre's 150-year-old granite industry. The purchase of the Jones Brothers property was made po ible by generous contributions of area banks, businesses, and individuals, support from the Vermont Legislature, and fmancing from the Granite Savings Bank & Trust Company. A grant is pending for the purchase price from the Vermont Housing and Conservation Trust. More than 250 people, including Governor Howard Dean, M.D. , attended a celebration for the museum at the Barre Opera House in September 1997.

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Sponsoring members of the event from the B As ociation include:

Granite

Rock of Ages Corporation, Trow & Hold Family Memorials, Inc., Granite Industrie of "ermont, Hillside Stone Products, Inc., LaCro _ I morials, Miles Supply Company, Inc., North Barre Granite Company, Pepin Granite Company, Breen . ems Management, Inc., Salvador & Babic Pc. Granite Savings Bank & Trust Company, Northfield a "ings Bank, Vermont ational Bank, Budiam America Diamond Tools, Inc., IMEX Diamond ~ And Segment, Inc., and -E-D Corporation. Other contributing members were:

Granite Corporation of Barre, Cel . _ Iemorial Sculpture Studio, Stanilsaw Luto tanski ulpture Studio, Desurreau Machines, Inc.. Granite City Tool Company, and A. Bellavance & ODS. Inc. Plans for the museum include tate-Qf-the-art, handson exhibits for all ages in geology. manufacturing, tools, transportation, culpture and ethni heritage. The museum will be de eloped in phases. Funding ources for the $4.25 million capital campaign will be ought from grants, tate and federal appropriations, corporation and individuals. For more information: call 802-476-4131, or write P. O. Box 282· Barre, VT 05641 BA RR E LI F E • WINTER 1998

Built at the turn of the century, the Jones Brothers plant was at one time the largest granite manufacturing plant in the world. The now-abandoned building will be home to a museum, complete with hands-on exhibits.

BARRE LIFE • WINTER 1998

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Associatioll _'-en's • People • Places • Events

Q: What's the connection between. -

Granite and Tomho