Category: Divine Stone

Pictured above is a proud Master Mason, Chris Hannaway, with his charges. With Chris are Timothy Smith, Linda Peer, James Jamerson, Jose Tapia and Manny Alvarado. The first five apprentices are with the first five stones for the Southwest Tower. These stones are all destined for the “A” zone of the tower on the Western face. Their numbers represent where they will go based on the construction drawings.

The four-sided tower known as the Southwest Tower or the Tower of St. Paul would contain over 12,000 stones. For organization and control purposes there were 11 zones and a pinnacle. The “A”, or first zone is fourteen feet high. It starts at elevation 239’3″ and ends at elevation 253’9″. On the construction drawing there are the dimensions and a discreet number for each stone. These first five stones are from the A zone, Western elevation so the number WA25 would tell the setters, exactly where that stone would go. These stones were cut before the administrative systems were complete, so job tickets which were later used were not the routine. The apprentices cut them in a training environment. A recreation of the job ticket for stone WA25 is below.

The Job Ticket

It is likely that Jim Bambridge was doing all the setting out work at this time. He would have assigned the first five stones for the Southwest Tower based on the fact that they were ashlars and fitted the availability of the raw stones in the stoneyard at the time. They were not sequential and these numbers are found scattered about the western elevation of the “A” zone.

• Special thanks to Jose Tapia, Stephen Boyle, and Pamela Morton for this information and photos.

The man who put the whole rebuilding and apprenticeship program in place moved along and started multiple programs and participated in many causes. He did not, however, move away from his love and connection to the stoneyard. He was proudly there often. When we saw this photo, we immediately wanted to overhear the conversation. Was it a spirited discussion of an ecclesiastical issue? Was it about the building of great cathedrals, or was it about their favorite food cart and lunch plans? This one more favorite photo made us stop and imagine.

“It was his second office.”

– Joseph Kincannon

• “One more favorite photo” courtesy of Pamela Morton
• “Morton Up Top” courtesy of Joseph Kincannon

Another favorite photo of mine is this one. I don’t know the date of it but likely late 1930’s, sometime prior to the shutdown of work with the arrival of World War II. These cutters are putting the finishing touches on the architectural shapes in this area of the West Front.

They are on this wooden scaffold, above the main doors, focused on the work, preparing it for the carvers. Herbert Photo’s Inc. captured this powerful and majestic image. I can hear the tap-tap of the mallet and hammer on the chisels.

• Favorite Photo Credit – © Indiana Limestone Company. Courtesy, Indiana Geological and Water Survey, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana. ILCO ID number NY4442-5-0

Master Mason Steve Boyle has shared with us the mortar formula that he used for setting, pointing and grouting. It was 6 parts sand, 1 part hydrated lime and I part white cement. It is the Indiana Limestone Institute’s standard mix.

• Thanks to Steve Boyle for this information
• Indiana Limestone Institute Handbook

(I am traveling for the next six weeks, so limited time for research. I am going to sprinkle in some of my favorite photos. These are photos that grabbed me instantly when I saw them.) – Roger

This one is by Robert Rodriguez who has documented the Morton Era stoneyard for more than a decade, and is an Artist-In-Residence. I don’t know who the banker mason was, but it would have just been finished. It is still in the cutter’s area and hasn’t joined the stacks of stone out there next to the Cathedral. I imagine he or she is standing to the side, quite pleased to be adding this one to the tower.

It strikes me as a noble photograph of a noble stone that conveys the feeling that beautiful work from the hands of an artisan is a theme that carried the stoneyard forward every day. No matter that the stone might be 200 feet in the air, each one deserved the very best.

• This “My Favorite Photos” by Robert F. Rodriguez is courtesy of Pamela Morton