Page 12 - Fr. John Webb Builds Stone Buildings

ISSUE : Issue 15

Published by Ronald Caplan on 1976/12/1

• '?*-# "*?? mmm ' i .'''-L''''''-Cffe we photographed Father Webb during one of his last days at Talbot House, and after 17 years there he was still experimenting, using blocks of wood about 14 inches long in place of rocks. He told us: "It's much faster, and with a fair amount of cement it's very strong. The older people used a mixture of salt and lime and they soaked their shingles in this solution. We soaked these logs in a salt brine • we didn't use lime but we might have • and as we put the log in we sprinkled on more salt. We used it in a small section of the woodhouse as an experiment, to see how long the wood would last and to see just what the structure would look like. It's rather attrac? tive. And if the wood happens to rot it's an easy matter to put stone in." Father Webb has moved to Boisdale and already is working there in stone. "We're do- ing stone work, using the men of Talbot House. But if anyone would like to volunteer their time, want to know how it's done, we'd gladly welcome any of them at any time we're doing that. It's good to have a day or two of seeing it done. If you've got all kinds of rock on hand you can do it. All this requires is a little bit of muscle power. And once it's done there's no maintanence to the building. All you have to do is paint the trim • that's about all." A Tradition of Welcome and Comfort Pine Pood by the Fire Telegraph House & Motel overlooking the Bras D'Or Lakes at Baddeck 295-9988 OEBN ALL YEAR 'ROUND SYDNEY SHIP SUPPLY cAT'inneris Creed I believe a man's greatest posses? sion is his dignity and tibat no calling bestows this more abun? dantly than farming. I believe hard work and honest sweat are the building blocks of a person's character. I belifeve that farming, despite its hardships and disappointments, is the most honest and honor? able way a man can spend his days on this earth. I believe farming nurtures the close family ties that make life rich in ways money can't buy. • I believe my children are learning values that will last a lifetime and can be learned, in no other way. I believe farming provides educa? tion for life and that no other occupation teaches so much about birth, growth and matu- . rity in such a variety of ways. I believe many of the best things in life are indeed free: the splen? dor of a sunrise, the rapture of wide open spaces, the exhilarat? ing sight of your land greening each spring; I believe true happiness comes from watching srour crops ripen in the field, your children grow tall in the sun, your whole fam? ily feel the pride that springs from their shared experience. I believe that by my toil I am giv? ing more to the world than I am taking from it, an honor that does not come to all men. I believe my life will be measured ultimately by what I have done for my fellowman, and by this standard I fear no judgment I believe when a man grows old and sums up his days, he should be able to stand tall and feel pride in the life he's lived. I believe in farming because it makes all this possible. Sydney and Port Hawkesbury

Cape Breton's Magazine