Help Raise the Roof2001 On nice days, stone engraver Ken Huffaker props open the doors of Nevada Monument Company in Nevada, Iowa. He likes a breeze while he and his four employees design and engrave monuments. One of their current projects, however, doesn’t involve a massive slab of granite but slender sheaves of 130-year-old slate tiles removed from Terrace Hill.
Working on batches of about six slates at a time, Huffaker and his apprentices apply glue and a rubber stencil to each slate. The slates are then sandblasted to etch out the stenciled pattern. “The tiles are so old you need to be careful not to pull off the face of the tile,” cautioned Huffaker. “One of the biggest problems is not to pull off the center of the letters; they’re quite fragile.”
Huffaker, a stone engraver since 1960, has engraved the Iowa Veterans Monument in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, as well as bricks, glass and signs for golf courses. The perpetuity of his work is one of the reasons he enjoys his profession. “When you engrave in stone, it’s forever,” he said.
He welcomes the chance to work on the 130-year-old tiles. “Patrons are getting a piece of history. There won’t be tile coming off the Terrace Hill roof for another 100 years.” Huffaker added, “Our work is like the Terrace Hill mansion; it will always be there.”
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