The Starting Five apprentices are pictured above with Chris Hannaway, Master Mason. Starting in December of 1978, hundreds of applications and inquiries poured in to Dean Morton’s office. Questions about the hiring of apprentices for the soon to be opened stone yard tied up 3 phone lines in the office, according to Odessa Elliot. They came out of the neighborhoods and they approached the Dean on the street. He recruited five young people, including two former street gang members, for the first class. After a hiatus of 37 years, construction would begin again. James Bambridge, Master Builder, secured Chris Hannaway to train the apprentices.
“I don’t worry about experience. I look for character, integrity and desire to learn”
– James Bambridge
First Stone Arrives
On June 21, 1979 a celebration marked the delivery of several gigantic blocks of Indiana Limestone. Bishop Paul Moore of the Episcopal Diocese of New York, The Very Rev. James Parks Morton, the dean of the cathedral and a host of community leaders including Mayor Koch spoke at the ceremony. They voiced a common message. The renewal of construction heralded a renaissance for the church, the community of Harlem, and the city.
“I pray that these two towers on the edge of Harlem will remind New Yorkers that we cannot rebuild our city at the expense of the poor, the aged and the sick. I pray that they will become symbols of our compassion, sympathy and yearning for peace.”
-Bishop Moore
The initial cost of resuming construction would be met by $2 million already available in the cathedral’s building fund. Therefore Bishop Moore estimated that this was sufficient money to set up the stone shop, purchase or rent the necessary equipment and pay the workers salaries for 5 years. An intensive fundraising campaign would supplement the initial amount. The Harlem Commonwealth Council would select 3 apprentices and finally the Diocese would pick two.
The Starting Five –
Dean Morton recruited Jose Tapia from a Harlem group called the Harlem Renigades. (They didn’t like too many e’s). James Jamerson’s previous job was installing refrigeration equipment. He said he hoped to start his own business in stone masonry once the job at the cathedral is finished. Manuel Alvarado was a museum keeper before he found work in the yard. Timothy Smith used to build stone walls in Vermont. Thus he had some experience. There is one woman so far in the workforce, Linda Peer, who said there is no reason women should not be stone masons and wishes there were more.
-Photos contributed by Timothy Smith