I don’t give a lot of thought to my age in years. On some days I feel older than yesterday and on others, younger. But with my 63rd birthday coming up in a month it’s nice to have recently completed a large commission, in a timely fashion, all under my own steam. Although, I can’t say I was completely alone on the job. Witness the photo I took of a black bear passing through one morning!

Two month ago I laid the first stone for the new Columbarium at Center Cemetery in Norfolk, Connecticut. Since then I’ve been working long hours, four or five days a week shifting, lifting and setting 100 tons of stone.

Materials used in the construction were sourced from five locations. Besides 1 ½” crushed stone for the base, I used tailings from a Vermont slate quarry for shim stock, 3”-5” local riprap for hearting, split-face stone from Quimby Mountain Quarry, field stone from on-site, and stone gathered from a natural rock slide in Vermont for wall face and top stones. To keep the work flowing smoothly it helped to have a full complement of shapes and sizes at every phase of the construction.

The dry stonework is finished. Now, the cemetery association awaits the fabrication of fifty steel boxes to be placed and fastened in the niches I created. By autumn, the bluestone face plates will be affixed and the Columbarium will be open for business (no disrespect to the occupants, they too once felt young).

Thanks to Robin Key, the cemetery committee, the town garage crew, Rosie, Jessie and the staff at Blackberry River Inn.