Lives Built On Slate
The Oral History of Tom Beebe
By: Matt Ruigrok and Isaac Strout
Did you know that your counter, your roof, or quite possibly your floor could be slate? If so, it probably has come from Granville, New York: The Colored Slate Capital of the World. Many people who were born here, their grandparents or great-grandparents are probably connected to the slate industry that is built around this town.
One person who worked in the slate industry is Mr. Tom Beebe. He was born in Glens Falls, NY and his family moved to Granville, NY to work in the slate industry. His dad had worked in the quarry for over 30 years, and Mr. Beebe was quite interested in the job as a child. His dad actually tried to direct him away from the industry because it requires a ton of manual labor. Even after trying to steer Tom away, he still ended up back in the industry. Tom needed a job and knew how to work with slate, so he came back. That is what Tom knew and loved. Mr. Beebe loves his career, even though it is back-breaking work. Tom appreciates the job so much! Tom enjoys seeing the finished product that he worked so long and hard on. There is only one problem that is hurting the industry: the lack of workers. It feels like nowadays that nobody wants to work, especially with manual labor jobs. Mr. Beebe thinks this is the problem that is going to kill the industry. There is plenty of slate in the ground to keep the business going. Also, the demand for roofing slate is through the roof!
The slate industry has provided many careers within Granville. In the area, we see piles of slate all the time, but we take it for granted. This is a rare rock that is only found in some spots around the world. For example, it's in the United Kingdom, Wales, Northern Italy, and the United States. This rock has practically built our town, it is our foundation. Our town has built an industry that has impacted many people around the world.
Many people buy their slate for their roofs or countertops, and it is shipped out of Granville. One example is the Pentagon. When it was hit on 9/11, the slate companies around here helped ship slate to Washington, DC. They sent slate from here in a timely manner in order for the roof of the Pentagon to be fixed. The companies all worked together: Evergreen Slate, Sheldon Slate, and all of the other companies in the area. The steps of preparing slate for selling are long and drawn out. That process has gotten shorter and easier over time with the new technology.
The slate in our area has impacted everything around us. Many people who have worked in the industry have been affected by this. Our community has grown tremendously just from the slate being here. Many people just like Mr. Beebe have come here to work in the industry. If you have lived in Granville, you will see and hear about the slate industry that has been here for generations. We all have to start with a clean slate sometimes!
Born and Raised in Slate
The Oral History of Molly Biggs-Celani
By: Ella Olsen and Renad Al-Alssere
Some people think that Granville is the Slate Capital of the World, but Molly Biggs- Celani has proven through her high school yearbook that title might not be true. Molly Biggs-Celani, co-editor of the Granville High School ‘57 yearbook and current president of the Slate Valley Museum Board of Trustees asks, “Is Granville really the slate capital of the world?” In the yearbook is a photograph from the winter of 1957, with the Granville High School class officers standing next to a sign that says, “Colored Slate Section of America”. Now a new sign reads, “Granville Slate Capital of the World,” but is that correct? Granville isn’t the only town in this area full of slate. Many other towns, such as Fair Haven and Poultney, Vermont, are also rich in slate, which could prove the sign that reads “Granville Slate Capital of The World” incorrect. This could cause us to debate this question of whether or not Granville is a section or capital of slate.
However, you might be wondering how Molly Biggs-Celani’s career all started and why she’s so passionate about all this. Molly Biggs-Celani’s grandpa was a slate worker, while her grandma worked with slate and was a widower. Growing up in the World War II era, life was so different compared to how it is now. Life was hard, but that didn’t seem to bother Molly. She’s a strong woman, which is one of the ways that helped her get into the slate industry. One of the main reasons slate was and still is important to her was because Granville's education system taught slate to the students and brought a shine to her eyes. Molly states in order to be in the slate industry you have to actually know and enjoy what you're doing. She wasn’t always involved in the industry. Molly told us she used to live in Florida and eventually came back. When she returned to Granville, she was desperate to reconnect with the slate industry since she grew up here. She ended up volunteering at the Slate Valley Museum and learned a lot from the men who were involved in the industry.
Molly also talked a lot about the important impact slate has had on the community. When she was in high school, slate was taught and there was even a mural in the school made of slate. Her high school yearbook discussed in the introduction, was also dedicated to slate, with images and facts about slate written throughout the book. The yearbook even included a small piece of colored slate on the front cover! Molly says that people need to be more educated about slate. Molly said, “It is an industry with a lot of opportunity and potential, and it’s all right here in Granville.” She also points out that there aren't enough people in the slate industry today, partially because of how dangerous working in the quarries is. There were accidents all the time at slate quarries, and the women stayed home so they could take care of any injured men. Often, there were landslides that were deadly to quarrymen that were working. happening. Many injuries and deaths have occurred from quarries. Although it is dangerous to work in the quarries, there are other jobs around slate. Selling slate is very important to keep the industry running. Molly recalled when Act 151 was put in place to try to take down the slate industry because they thought it was bad for the environment. The slate companies and communities from Granville, and some places in Vermont came together to fight this act to keep the industry together. Slate has such an impact on the community and town, and the industry should be kept alive.
The slate industry is something that is so interesting and has so much opportunity. One of Molly’s favorite things about slate is that the slate from here reaches far places around the globe. Molly said, “It's like there are little pieces of Granville everywhere.” If you think about it, it is crazy to imagine. Slate is used worldwide for so many products, and is a very sustainable material. Recently, there have been many technological advances in the industry such as artificial intelligence that make it easier and more efficient. Molly also elaborated on how there is a lot of competition between slate companies. She said they were very secretive about any new information. Smaller slate companies usually brought slate to larger companies and had them sell it, almost like a wholesaler. Molly says there are at least 100 years left in the slate industry and it needs new interested workers. To work in the slate industry, Molly says, “You need to learn to love the product, be hands-on, be willing to work, be fast to sell it, and be a good business person.” Not only is slate a growing industry here, but in this area, marble and granite are abundant, too. Marble and granite are in Vermont and are very good materials, and there are a lot of opportunities within that field. Molly says that slate, marble, and granite are three major products that should be taught about and developed. The slate industry has a bright future with a lot of opportunities.
The slate industry has left a legacy on this town and on many people's lives, especially Molly’s. It is an industry with so much opportunity and future, and it's right here in Granville. Working in the slate industry might not be an easy job, but it's an important one. Slate is used in many ways all over the world. We are truly lucky to live in a town with so much rich slate history and such a bright future.
GROWING UP WITH SLATE
THE ORAL HISTORY OF
BETTY GRAVELLE
As Recorded by Riley Gravelle and Tristin Warner
Betty Gravelle was born to Russel and Catherine Williams in Middle Granville, in the year 1944. She has one sister, Shirley. Mrs. Gravelle was the last to be born in the hospital that once stood across from the TD Bank on Quaker Street in Granville and the first patient in the hospital on the hill that is now the Sheldon Mansion on North Street.
Betty told us how her father had worked with slate for many years, and she told us a story about going to one of his two quarries and helping to trim the slate. Betty was five years old at the time. She told us of another story that took place during her teenage years. She had gone to one of the quarries and gotten a bit too close to one of the pits. Betty was scared of going to the quarries for a while after that!
Betty’s family had been involved with slate since the 1860s-1870s, starting with her great-grandfather, John P. and his brother Fredrick. John P. fought in the Civil War, but had been captured. He eventually escaped to Canada and got married while there. He returned to Granville and started working at the Penrhyn quarry. He had 13 children, most of whom were also involved with the slate industry. Betty’s grandfather also worked in quarries, and so did her father. Her father owned two Williams Brothers quarries, one on Pine Hill and the other one was on the South Poultney Road. She said her family has been involved with many quarries, those being the Ritchie Brothers, Williams Brothers, Tatko Brothers, and the Penrhyn quarries. Her father made enough money to support the family. “It was enough to live happily and have food on our plates,” Betty recalls.
When asked if she felt that there was a strong community surrounding the slate industry, Betty responded that with so many people working within the quarries and mills, and with their families also being involved in many different ways, it would have been difficult for a community to not form around it. She is no longer connected to the slate community. However, she has fond memories of the slate community from when she was younger.
The industry has changed since she was involved with it, and the technologies used in the process have advanced greatly over the years. She says the jobs are now much less dangerous than they used to be, although they are still dangerous within their own right. The advice Betty would give to people wishing to find a career within the slate industry is that you have to work hard and learn exactly what you need to do, “You need to be precise.”
The Woman Who
Opened the Door For Other
Women
The Oral History of Elizabeth Shaw
As Recorded By
Renad Al-Assere and Elyas Al-Assere
Elizabeth Shaw emigrated to the United States from Germany in 1955 and influenced a big change for women in the slate industry of the Granville region. She was born in the 1930s on a farm in Germany. Elizabeth married an American soldier who took her to Whitehall, NY. After an unhappy marriage that ended in divorce after a year and a half, Elizabeth found herself struggling to learn the English language and support herself in a new country.
As the seasons and years passed, Elizabeth held various jobs and lived in other states. She traveled to Kansas, California, and her journey finally brought her back to the slate region of Granville, NY. During these years, she adapted to the language and life in America, working in restaurants, laundries, and on farms. She married again and with her new husband, Mr. Mulhall, helped him “quarry” slate on their own. She loved motivating herself. She states, “Do your work. If you work hard, you get places. If you don’t work, you don’t get places you want.” She worked in the quarries during the summer, and worked in the woods during the winter. She enjoyed working in the quarries and working with the slate. Mr. Mulhall marketed his slate to the Rising & Nelson Slate Company, then began working at the Tatko Brothers Slate Company and this eventually led her into a new career.
Her husband went to Tatko Brothers Slate Co. in Middle Granville on January 24th, his birthday, to look for a job. He got a job and told them about her working with him. He came home a few days later and told her to put her work clothes on, they wanted to see her work. Remus Tatko was the boss. He said, “I will let my brothers see if it is ok.” She enjoyed being there and cherished every moment of it. Elizabeth mentioned when the Tatko brothers were watching her work she felt awkward. She said it with a sense of humor, “I felt like a monkey climbing on a tree,” because she was the first female to be working in their slate quarries of Granville, which was in 1964. After that, they hired more women. Although she had great memories there, she mentions how at this point in her life, she wouldn't want to come back to work. She would rather work in her garden.
She was good friends with the Tatkko family. Remus Tatko and his wife hosted Christmas parties and always invited Mrs. Shaw, they loved the goulash she would make for the parties. She was working for John Tatko at Sheldon Slate Company when President Kennedy died, and they made the headstone for President Kennedy. The Tatkos brought down black slate from their quarry in Maine for the headstone. When Remus Tatko was involved with Tatko Brothers, they made slate jewelry and slate ashtrays. It, unfortunately, became too expensive to make those items, which led to them giving them up.
Her late husband, Mr. Mulhall, was a hard worker, and she believes in hard work. She states, “You have to be a hard worker,” just like she was. She shipped packages of slate, which again influenced the slate industry, allowing women to work in shipping slate. An average day for them would include working on the gager, packing slate in boxes, running the lift truck to move pallets, wearing aprons & boots, and putting water on the bit saw to smooth the slate. According to her, a lot of things have changed. The technology now is more advanced, making it easier for the new generation of slate workers to do their job. She foresees a bigger and brighter future for the industry of slate.
In 1974, her husband sadly died from a stroke. His passing was devastating for her. She was financially struggling, and Elizabeth knew she wasn't able to afford a funeral for him. She couldn't get help from anyone, including her son. She knew sitting around and asking for money wasn't going to help. But then a glimmer of hope shined. A farmer decided to pay the money for the funeral, and in return, she had to feed his chickens, gather the eggs, and sell the eggs for him. With the farmer’s help, she eventually got the money she needed for her late husband's funeral. This shows how much of a hard worker Elizabeth has always been, working hours on end to get her husband a proper burial.
Mrs. Shaw has always been an independent and outgoing woman, however, she disliked living alone after Mr. Mulhall passed away. Years laters, she met the brother of a friend and that companionship resulted in her marriage to Mr. Shaw. Elizabeth Shaw is an inspirational woman. She opened up a door for many women in Granville and set an example to never limit yourself. She says, “Never give up, even when setbacks knock you down. You have to stand up and try again.” To Elizabeth, not everything is about physical strength. She states, “...work hard to get to places, use your brains.” She empowered many women, including herself, on this journey. Thanks to her journey to Granville, we now have many women with the ability to work in the slate industry and provide for the community.
Chronicle of Slate: Written in Stone
A Oral History of Granville Slate
From the Perspective of Michelle “Mickey” Shaw
As recorded by Tristin Warner and Riley Gravelle
Slate has been part of Granville for almost as long as Granville existed, and it’s known as the Slate Capital of the World. In the far past, the Welsh were the first to start mining the slate. By the 1850s Granville had an economic boom, because the Welsh lived here, shopped here and mined here, which kept the money in the community. The red slate that is exclusive to the Granville area is also a part of the key to the economic success of quarries in the area. Red slate is the rarest and most expensive slate in the world. Another important fact is that slate from Granville is on the roof of the Pentagon in Washington, D.C.
Someone who appreciated the history of slate in this community is Michelle “Mickey” Shaw. She was born August 5th, 1948, in Saratoga, and she has lived in Granville her whole life. As Mickey grew up in Middle Granville, her family was not rich by any means, but they made enough to get by. Despite this, her mother would always be dressed up whenever she left the house. Customs were far different back then, from how you presented yourself, to how you made a living. And in Granville… Many made their living off slate.
Mickey’s family was no different. Her father and uncle started a quarry when they leased land in Middle Granville. Shortly after, her uncle was working on a barn that was lifted, it fell and killed him. When Mickey was young, she started by boxing slate, and she was paid 5 cents a box. Back then, they drove slate up to Canada to sell it because they could sell with less tax there. Some would even ship their slate out from the train station in Granville. Although, the tremors from the train would cause some slate to chip, and crack, resulting in a loss in profit from the wasted slate. Mickey’s father was a slate splitter, and he split slate from many different quarries. Her husband also worked for her father and would be able to look at a slate roof or floor and tell you exactly where the slate was from, just by the grain and color!
Going back many years ago, there was once the Penrhyn Quarry in Middle Granville, and row houses were built at the base of the quarry area where workers and their families lived. Today, only one of those historic homes still stands. This area is along what is currently Rte. 22A , near where Mickey’s family ran their quarry and slate yard. In the past slate quarries were far more dangerous to work in. This was because the older technology was more faulty, and the methods of gathering slate were more daring. They had pulleys that they used to get the slate out of the quarries, and they used explosives to expose the slate. Both of these can backfire. Before they had the open quarries you see today, they dug tunnels in the ground to mine the slate. These tunnels could collapse, killing people. There was an accident that Mickey spoke of when someone fell into one of the air holes for these tunnels and had to be saved by the fire department. Another explosive incident she recalls took place on North Street in Granville, where the train track once was. From memory, she believes there was an explosion of a railcar carrying slate and it may have been over the issue of possible unionization within the slate industry.
Even if there was an incident in one of the quarries, other quarries would help out because there was a sense of brotherhood between fellow slate workers. It appears that slate has been bringing the community together, like in the formation of the Slate Valley Museum and with the jobs provided by quarries. Although, nowadays only a portion of the slate quarries are family owned. Environmental regulations make it difficult to start new quarries, so smaller quarries are bought by larger ones. Even Mickey's family quarry, Ritchie Brothers, was purchased about 10 years ago by Mohawk Red Slate Company from Canada. As for the future of the slate industry, Mickey Shaw sees it relying on roofing slate that is marketed and shipped out West. Time will only tell what is in store for the Slate Capital of the World she so fondly cares about.
The Origins of Slate
THE ORAL HISTORY OF DAN WILLIAMS
As recorded by Elyas Al-Assere & Madelaine Wilson
Dubbed the “Colored Slate Capital of the World¨, Granville has provided the world with rare colored slate. Not only has it provided slate, but also provided stories to be told, stories of hard workers at the quarry. People all over the world would come to work in the quarries. Dan Williams' great-grandfather, for example, came from Wales just to work at the quarries in Granville, where working at the quarries has been passed down for generations to come.
Dan Williams’ story starts in the early 1900s in Wales when his great-grandfather's wife died tragically, and all his great-grandfather had left was his son and daughter. So he moved to Granville for a job in the quarries for about 40 years. His job working with slate got passed down to Dan’s grandfather who learned slate roofing instead of working in the quarries, which then got passed down to Dan Williams and his cousins. Dan hopes his impact towards the slate industry was positive. He has bought slate from local companies, worked at the Slate Valley Museum as the Vice President of the Board of Trustees, and told the stories of his ancestors working within the slate industry. If it weren’t for the slate industry, Dan states he would’ve ended up much differently and that his life has drastically changed since joining the industry. His earliest memories of the slate industry is swimming in the quarries and watching the rivers changing colors due to workers washing slate. He remembers watching slate workers go on railroad tracks to get to work and to transport slate. What he cherishes the most about the slate industry are the immigrants and workers who built Granville. He said, “If it wasn’t for the slate bringing the immigrants, I wouldn’t have been here.”
Living within the community, it stood out to Mr. Williams that many nationalities came to Granville and worked together. He also likes the history of the Granville slate industry and thinks that it is a great place to live. In the community when it was time to go to work, back then, workers would ride the train to get to work. As each part of the quarry started working, the river would start to change different colors.
Presently, local companies work together with each other and even sometimes are related, but there is much competition out in the bigger market. Unfortunately, the industry is slowly dwindling and is about 30% of what it used to be, says Dan. The slate business is starting to fall on hard times. It's hard to make money, so some quarries have started to close. Although the industry is shifting, it will stay for years to come. There is always a need for slate everywhere, such as roofing, flooring, tables, and other home pieces.
There is definitely a lot to say to the people who are interested in joining the slate industry. For example, people interested in getting involved in the slate industry must be willing to work long and hard days. It can be a labor intensive job depending on which part of the industry you work in, but is an easy job to learn. There is a huge value in the industry, and you can make a great living off of it. There's a great need for slate workers, and it can be a great opportunity to learn and pass on the skills for generations to come.
Although Granville isn't the only place with slate, it is the “Colored Slate Capital of the World.” It is also the only place that quarries red slate, making the town of Granville very important. There are so many uses for slate and it is used worldwide. Local companies make the slate industry what it is. So many people from generations ago made the slate industry into a thriving place. The slate industry in Granville might be dwindling, however, with people like Dan who contribute and do their part, there is hope for the industry.