Masonry Magazine August 1979 Page. 10
Masonry Estimating FOR Profit
Those attending the seminar were: Arizona-Gordon Markins, Warner Masonry, Inc., Phoenix. Colorado Jim Otis, Soderberg Masonry, Inc., Fort Collins. Florida-Jessie Kidewell, Cook & Pruitt Masonry Contractors. Inc., Miami.
Illinois Larry Green, Dennis Roth, Belleville; R. Anderson, R. Schiffels, V.S. Wallgren Co., Chicago: Doug Winikates, Darien: James Szabo, Joseph Szabo, Joseph Szabo Co., Des Plaines: E. J. Hallman, Bayfield Construction Co., Inc., Edison Park: Carol Neal, Mike Jacobson, Mt. Prospect: Dan Carducci, Hirsekorn Construction Co., Inc... Naperville; Charles Ostrander, Chicago Masonry Institute, Park Ridge; George Garrison, Charles Clay Co., Urbana. Kansas-Michael Greeson, Greeson Masonry, Topeka. Kentucky-Mike Wiles, Benton; Ken Brady, Scott Jay. Hughes Masonry Co., Inc., Crestwood. Michigan-Wally Pollee, Stevensville. Missouri-Judy Foeste, Kenny Foeste, Cape Girardeau: John Harlan, Manchester.
Signing in the seminar registrants and presenting their course materials were George A. Miller (center), MCAA executive vice president, assisted by MCAA Education Committee member Bob Harrison (right) and Stan Misunas, editor of "Masonry."
North Carolina-David Soloff III, Larson & Soloff, Inc... Charlotte. Tennessee Beth Soloff, Larson & Soloff, Inc., William Sneed, Jr., Wasco, Inc., Nashville. Texas-David Veazey, Veazey Corp., Houston; Steve Carter, Wayne Emory Mason Contractor, Sherman. Utah-Richard Crooks, CS&G Masonry. West Jordan. West Virginia-George Lowry, Tom Lowry. Lowry Masonry, Charleston. Wyoming-James Johnson. Harold F. Johnson. Masonry, Cheyenne.
THE EDDYSTONE LIGHT
# A Beacon to the Construction Industry in America
"Me father was the keeper of the Eddystone Light. 'e married a mermaid one night. Out of the match came children three- Two was fish and the other was me."
So goes the old English folksong. While some might question the genetic authenticity of the lyrics, the use of the Eddystone Light emphasized the age and importance of that lighthouse off a windswept point near Cornwall, England.
The structure represents the triumph of a British engineer, John Smearton, in the year 1759. Wooden lighthouses had been constructed on that particularly vulnerable spot time after time, only to collapse under the battering-ram force of the waves. Smearton was given the assignment of building something that would last.
He knew that he would have to find a material that would provide a firm foundation. The formula for making cement, which had been used by the ancient Romans, had somehow been lost during the Middle Ages. The enterprising Englishman rediscovered it. He started out by heating limestone until it became quicklime. This would harden when mixed with water in the air, but not on the bottom of the sea. He then tried burning limestone containing considerable impurity in the form of clay. This did the job when reduced to a powder.
The Eddystone Light guided ships for 125 years and was the first of the many modern navigational beacons. It also heralded the birth of the "natural" cement industry and made contemporary construction possible.
While this product was used extensively, especially in the rapidly growing United States, it presented certain problems. Because the ingredients were mixed by nature, its properties, therefore its reliability, varied considerably from area to area.
Another Englishman, a bricklayer named Joseph Aspdin, was experimenting with the creation of a synthetic cement. He finally succeeded by burning powdered limestone and clay on his kitchen stove. The resulting mixture resembled the color of stone quarried on his native Isle of Portland, so he named it after that.
Aspdin's invention made it possible to carefully control the proportion of ingredients, hence the characteristics of the resulting product. Today, more than 98 percent of the cement in this country is produced in this same laboratory-controlled manner.
"Cement is often 'put-down' as a glamorless commodity," says Richard E. Gill, president of Huron Cement Division, National Gypsum Co. "But I don't agree at all. I see the prestigious Pentagon Building, immense airports handling giant jets, an interstate highway system that unites the nation. I see America growing-and I see cement."