“I think we hit a home run today,” said Pete Ryder as he wrapped up a demonstration project during the fourth annual NHLA Field Day in late September.

Ryder, former president of the The Stone Trust (TST) and current Level 2 Instructor, gathered a team of volunteer Level 1 and 2 experts to build a 32-inch, four-foot-tall round dry stacked stone pillar as a permanent display at the Belknap County Fairgrounds in Belmont, NH. The pillar is one of several features used in testing for Level Four testing for stonework proficiency. Ryder donated most of the materials.

This is the third year The Stone Trust and NHLA have offered a live demonstration for Field Day, providing active, hands-on experience for landscapers to experience dry stonework. The past two demonstrations included building a 30-foot retaining wall outside the fairground administration building and the following year a large Goshen flagstone patio behind the wall.

David DeJohn, a Level 1 mason who is also a former president of NHLA, and Mike Barwell, a board director of both TST and NHLA, as well as chair of the NHLA Education Committee, helped coordinate all three events.

TST experts helping with the build were Level 2 masons Lu Booth, who shaped two of the top features of the pillar; Andras Lazar, who demonstrated stone shaping of the Goshen stone; Jordan Keyes, Level 2 representative of Trow and Holden; and Level 1 worker Matt Humphrey.

Brian Post, current treasurer and former executive director of TST, joined the build after giving a well-attended hour-long workshop entitled “Why Use Real Stone in Landscape Design.” Post is a certified landscape architect and Level 4 instructor and tester for the Dry Stone Walling Association of Great Britain (DSWA).

TST board member Duncan Murphy also attended the event.

Observers that day included new TST Executive Director Christine Frost, who started her new role only the week before. “I was impressed not only with the quality of the work being shown but also with how many young people and women were involved and interested in doing stonework.”

“This is the type of retail marketing the TST needs to do,” said Barwell. “When people can really get their hands on stone they understand the beauty and durability of using natural stone in their landscape projects. We need to be out there building enthusiasm.”

~ by Mike Barwell