Jared Flynn and I were two boys growing up in Swedeville, separated by twenty years. My playmate Jimmy’s parents were Jared’s grandparents. We played in the same yards and explored the same woods as kids. It was only after getting to know each other as professional dry stone wallers that we discovered the coincidence. 

What was it about that section of Brattleboro, in the 50’s and 70’s, that two of its own grew up to become stone Mastercraftmen? The neighborhood has narrow streets, modest homes, oak and maple trees overhanging a brook with steep, ledgy banks. It hasn’t changed much over the years, and as far as that goes, neither have I. I’m still fundamentally my eight year-old self. The play I liked then is the work I like now. Maybe Jared just got stuck, like me, in the “Swedeville Time-warp”.  

As adults, Jared and I have expanded our territory to include other states and foreign lands. We work where our trade/craft/art takes us. Our home turf hasn’t been neglected, though, as will be witnessed by all those going on BMAC’s Hidden in the Hills tour next Sunday, June 5th. Within a five-mile radius of our Dummerston homes are a multitude of dry stone structures that we’ve built, individually, and with each other's help.

Participants in the outing will visit works in public spaces and on private grounds. In addition, there will be an abundance of exceptional stonework by other wallers on view at the tour’s starting point. Amy-Louise Pfeffer, Executive Director of The Stone Trust, and I will host the event. Come and enjoy. 

Visit the Brattleboro Museum and Art Center for more information and to sign up.