| Show Five generations of Utah stone carvers r I f f l r t t ft i Yo i t t o s 33 i e r 4 t r t a x i q j 1 l P p r y 3 A f fr r i p d R. R f y a 1 a S I Wade Hansen puts finishing touches on the gargoyle that he carved and donated to Liberty Park Museum Wade and several other othe young related carvers made the gargoyles on the City County Building Cleova Williams Feature Page Editor The Hansen family has carved out a five generation business from native Utah stone while creating and preserving historical build build- ings Members of the family are the only stone carvers west of the Mississippi Each succeeding generation learning learning learning learn learn- ing skills from the past expanding expanding expanding ex ex- the present business business business busi busi- ness and teaching the future stone carvers have created a avital avital avital vital local business that services services services ser ser- ser ser- vices the entire Western United States Other stone cutters are easy to find but only the Hansens Hansens Hansens Han- Han sens have perfected their craft to the point that they can be called stone carvers They perform meticulous restoration restoration restoration res res- res- res work on many Utah historical buildings Intricately Intricately Intricately cately involved with rejuvenating the Deveraux Mansion from a run-down run eyesore they transformed it into a historical showpiece Afew Afew A Afew few years ago the mansion looked faded tired and worn- worn out The Hansens gave it a face lift now its red sandstone walls attract the eye The Hansens Hansen's latest best known work can be seen on the City County Building in Salt Lake City they worked on the project off and on through twelve years of political shuffling J. J Weston Hansen carved new gargoyles for the City County Building to replace those whose details were obliterated by the passage of time Storms had worn away at the sandstone statues leaving leaving leaving leav leav- ing them distorted and face face- less A crew chipped out and crane lifted them from the crest of the edifice Replacement Replacement Replace Replace- ment gargoyles weighed between between between be be- tween three and four tons and had to be hoisted cautiously one slip could easily crush a workman Some of the smaller sandstone blocks had also been crumbling away New blocks quarried from the Hansens Hansen's own quarry replaced them J. J Weston Hansen is currently Owner dent of Custom Stone Sawing and Cutting the Cutting the family business His grandfather Jensen showed him the rudiments of stone quarrying when Weston was five years old Weston would sit perched on top of quarried stone blocks stacked in a small mining car while grandpa Jensen pushed the load from the cut stone face to a wagon The grit of stone stonework stonework stonework work got into Westons Weston's blood early Today J. J Weston oversees a crew of 15 to 30 sons nephews grandnephews and other laborers Day by day J. J Weston works side by side with them training them in inthe inthe inthe the craft that his father and grandfather taught him Sandstone dust lies thick around them Two years of apprenticeship are necessary for these young men to become become become be be- come stone cutters and twelve years to qualify as car car- vers Throughout the shop and yard each individual is involved involved involved in in- in a different task manipulating machines and tools The rock comes from the quarry in massive blocks and needs to be cut to size A Astone Astone Astone stone cutter operating one of the three wire band saws lowers the humming spinning spinning spinning spin spin- ning wire into place and cuts a grove into the top of the virgin stone Water sprays through the grove removing dust and keeping both stone and saw cooled as the carbon wire cuts deeper and deeper Heavy flat slabs slabs' are sliced from the face fare of the original quarried block These slabs will be used II as as is or cut down further with round diamond saws that range in size up to 5 feet in diameter A unique stone splitter called the guillotine will be used on some of the cut stone The guillotine breaks bricks of stone off rectangular columns with its falling steel teeth In the James Jensen didn't start his stone quarrying quarrying quarrying quarry quarry- ing business with his great- great great-grandchildren great in mind He was desperately trying to keep his young family fed His immigrant Danish father had taught him the skills of a blacksmith but he found it necessary to branch out to keep money coming in For a short while he worked in Little Little Little Lit Lit- tle Cottonwood Canyon as a ahard ahard ahard hard rock miner Then he concentrated his efforts into learning the masonry trade He became a hod-carrier hod mixing cement hauling rock and assisting the masons masons Tired of working for others James started a business business business busi busi- ness that combined all of his skills to his advantage He staked a claim on barren stony ground in Snyderville and purchased a team and wagon While working with the masons he had recognized recognized recognized a market for stone James his own tools giving himself an advantage advantage advantage ad ad- vantage over the other entrepreneurs chipping stone from Utah's desert He could cut stone quicker and more precisely as he improved the tools A one man operation he quarried hauled sold and andset andset andset set his own stone Most of his work went into walls walkways and fireplaces in Salt Lake City Doing the work James learned his new trade His jobs varied and his knowledge increased During the and James often set stone fill-stone a type of masonry using large round river rocks split and set in mortar stone Fill-stone was easy to come by and didn't have to tobe tobe tobe be hauled a great distance An exam example pIe of his fill stone work can be seen on the old Kaysville Kaysville Kaysville Kays- Kays ville church house Its rough surface still stands up to the elements Though a tiny chapel it has an atmosphere of determined permanence James started a flagstone trend in Salt Lake City that lasted from the to the Flagstone is nugget sandstone It was popular to set flagstone around the front door and down the steps of expensive homes Fireplaces were often built of flagstone also This type of work can be seen throughout the city's prestigious avenues Grandpa Jensen passed all of his skills onto his grandson Wilford Hansen Wilford was an apprentice under him for years learning to quarry cut carve and set stone He also learned the skills of a blacksmith In 1931 Grandpa Jensen sold his flagstone quarry to Wilford who had an exceptional exceptional exceptional talent for business He started out with talent a quarry and a few hand tools He had to quarry load cut and l lay y large stone blocks without heavy equipment Wilford pushed the sale of flagstone until it became a popular trend Working alone Wilford gradually built his business In 1935 he opened a stone carvers shop Piece by piece he bought equipment capable of handling handling handling han han- larger chunks of stone Using the blacksmithing skills that had been passed down he created unique specialized specialized specialized tools These tools helped him continue improving improving improving ing his stone carving skills Flagstone was quarried in Peoa and was tricky to work with It is found in angular layers laying at a 45 degree tilt Works Workmen ien would under-mine under slabs of stone to remove it leaving an over hang of stone above their heads Wilford's three sons J. J Weston Joe and Bruce worked for him as they got old enough By age 12 Weston worked with stone masons by 17 he cut stone daily from the quarries and now v he owns the company The other sons are also involved currently in inthe inthe inthe the business Joe Hansen works as a stone carver and Bruce Hansen has started his own trucking business to haul rock Hansens Hansen's work can be seen on many chapels along the Wasatch Front The Cathedral of the Madeleine with its porus soft grey sandstone needed the Hansens Hansen's expertise to repair its it's rock work Stone repair on the red sandstone First Presbyterian Church can hardly be detected from the original The most frequent repair jobs done on churches are restoring steps and l fireplaces Another piece of heritage that Hansens were able to save was the antique face of the Commercial Security Bank Atall Atall A Atall tall new building was put up behind it with the stone face decorating the front Its light red brick arched windows and small stone buttresses add delightfully to the buildings atmosphere In can be seen in downtown Salt Lake City at 50 SO S. S Main Street On display at Brigham Youngs Young's Farm is an antique building the Social Hall that Hansens had to do extensive work on In the early days of Salt Lake City it was a place for forthe forthe forthe the community to gather for dances and pot luck dinners The Social Hall was moved to Brigham Youngs Young's Farm to be part of f Salt Lakes Lake's play Its' Its rock walls were crumbling crumbling crumbling crum crum- bling in places Hansens had to repair it in the old style g making the new stone look as asif asif asif if it belonged with the rest of the building The next generation of Hansens will be headed by Brad Hansen J. J Westons Weston's son His apprenticeship started at I 12 and today he runs the x J Hansens Hansen's quarries Bruce Las has N learned the traditional family family- blacksmithing skills to teach the succeeding generations |
