Put on a Hard Hat & Meet me at Rock of Ages

Myself, Melissa Bounty (Executive Director), Mercy Sheehan (Director of Programs & Community Development) and Abby Jenne (Executive Assistant) were treated to “the best thing you’ll ever do at this job,” (my predecessor Jamie Stewart), an in-depth tour of the quarry and different facilities of Rock of Ages in Barre, Vermont.

Jamie’s description did not disappoint! Abby, Mercy and I saw granite being pulled from the earth and shaped into incredible monuments and practical creations of our modern world, including bases used in semiconductor manufacturing.

Personally, I have always been a great fan of digging in and smelling, seeing, and touching the bounty of geology offered in whatever place I lived. As a student at the Aegean Center of the Fine Arts on the island of Paros, Cyclades, Greece, I was mesmerized by the marble quarries which we were able to visit; even more breathtaking as I learned of the places that stone went in the world.

The biggest surprise, however, was a teeny tiny little rock museum on my island had about six samples of the “world’s best rocks” — and lo and behold, some Barre granite sat among them. At the time, my limited Greek vocabulary did absolutely no justice to the excitement and awe I had to see (almost) hometown rocks there amongst other examples of the world’s best stones. (My name literally translates to “Honeybee Candybar” so my time in Greece was often punctuated by amused, yet confused, responses to any information I offered.)

Thank you to Rob Boulanger at everyone at Rock of Ages for this best of the best tour of your world-famous granite, and the great work you do with it!