A Waller's Tale- In the Hills Magazine
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This story first appeared in the Summer, 2004 issue of 'In The Hills', a magazine of country living in the Headwaters region of Ontario. Locations in the story lie east of Orangeville, Ontario.

We live in an instant world – instant food, instant photos, instant mail. And last fall I added to the list of ‘instants’ with an instant stone wall. Well, relatively instant. In less than six hours, on a gray and rainy autumn Saturday in Adjala, nine determined souls built a 22-foot section of dry-laid wall just under three feet wide and high.

Those who signed up for our October workshop had little idea what to expect. Neither did our instructor, John Shaw-Rimmington, the founder of the Dry Stone Wall Association of Canada. He later confessed to an initial feeling of dismay when he saw our unskilled group and the hodge-podge of stones gathered from the fields of friends and neighbours. Our raw materials included not only ourselves, but a 22-foot-long shallow trench, spread with a few inches of gravel (for drainage, to minimize frost damage), and piles of fieldstone of every shape, colour, texture and size. It was our job to assemble this particularly difficult stone into a wall, without the aid of mortar. Our instructor told us that he has a friend who assured him a wall can be built out of almost anything. He added, though, that his friend’s attempt to build a wall out of potatoes had been less than successful. Still, he said, "Each wall is unique. Its form and content dictated by the stones themselves, and the motivation and skill of its builders."

Local stone walls demonstrate a range of character and styles, from the very precisely constructed walls at the front of Mrs. Mitchell’s restaurant in Violet Hill to the miles of almost randomly laid walls at Devil’s Paintbrush golf course in Caledon. These walls are primarily decorative, but stones are a primal building material and, in many parts of the world – including ours – a ubiquitous one. Building fences was the obvious and very practical use for stones laboriously cleared to make way for crops.

I had long wanted to build a dry stone wall, inspired perhaps by my ‘Waller’ ancestors and a poem called ‘The Old Waller’ that my mother had sent me about a decade ago. But my genetic heritage didn’t make up for the inexperience only too evident in my beginner’s efforts. So I initiated the workshop, led by a professional, as a way to learn how to build the first of my desired walls on our country property.

Reflecting on the disparate group assembled on that foggy day, John Shaw-Rimmington suggests, "The odd shapes and sizes of stones perhaps represented the various personalities of the participants. We worked as a team, even though we had never worked together before, bound by a common desire to learn and create." Letting his imagination wander even more freely, he adds, "The stones lying randomly on the ground … had no idea that a group of strangers, sharing a sense of excitement and kinship as they bumped shoulders and interacted, would come together to create a pleasing configuration, never to be repeated. Or maybe we, stones and people, were predestined to create this enduring structure."

We learned many things that day, from finding a face on each stone that would match the desired inward taper (so that gravity worked to hold the wall together), to placing the big stones at the bottom and saving our flat stones for the top ‘coping.’ Working singly or in pairs, we applied what we had been shown, always under John’s watchful eye. Managing our activity was quite a challenge, particularly when he was interrupted by the excited voice of his 10-year-old daughter, Maddie, who had found yet another perfect stone for her father to put in place.

The day’s experience "caused me to slow down and contemplate what I was doing," says Gordon Miller, who restores historic log structures but had not previously worked with stone. "It now seems presumptuous to think that we could quickly grasp and securely fix in place millennia-old stone. Building a wall slowly, carefully and reflectively strengthened the respectful side of my nature, encouraging a connection with the past and an age-old craft."

It was also a first-time experience for David Warburton, a garden designer with a particular interest in preserving traditional skills and knowledge. "My work calls for seeing and imagining shapes and patterns," he says. "Working with randomly found stone to create an enduring wall felt like a workout for me, much as an athlete cross-trains to prepare for competition. It put my brain in the same space."

John Shaw-Rimmington, a stonemason by trade and a dry stone wall builder by passion, is fascinated with using natural materials to achieve both beauty and purpose. His interest in stone-wall construction was inspired in part by trips to England and Scotland, where he worked with, among others, Norman Haddow, a royal dyker to the Queen. With more than 20 years experience in wall building, Norman Haddow passes on his personal advice for success: realize your limitations and get help if you need it; if you are repairing a wall, work out why it came down before starting work on it; and, remember, the only thing holding up a dry stone wall is gravity. "Dry stone walling is a lovely yet challenging way of life. It often involves conservation of our heritage and sometimes creates fine features fashioned in stone for the future," he says, "This excellent occupation exercises every muscle in the body while encouraging the mind to solve interesting design problems ... At the end of each day wallers can stand back and say with pride, ‘I did that.’"

With a lot of help, I now have a first section of wall on my own property. The challenge now is to use the knowledge and experience I gained that day to build another section on my own. However "instant" our activity that day, what we created was something of permanence and beauty. However immodestly, all of us that day did indeed stand back and say with pride, "We did that." **

For information about the Dry Stone Wall Association of Canada, visit www.dswac.ca. **

Bob Waller is a ‘plain language’ business writer and former lawyer.

John Shaw-Rimmington’s tips for building dry stone walls:

Each stone should be angled back slightly from the ones below so as to create a slightly tapered wall. Use of ‘batter’ boards or rods, connected with stout string, is essential to checking the wall’s taper as it grows.

If stones are not level, pin them with smaller flat or wedge-shaped stones.

Occasionally lay cross-stones or through-stones to bind the wall together.

Follow this basic rule: one stone over two; two stones over one (to avoid vertical runs).

Each stone should touch as many others as possible.

Look for the ‘plane’ or ‘face’ of each stone. Even bulged stones can be placed to look ‘flush.’

Aim to place the bulk of a stone inside the wall, not along the outer surface.

It’s often best to pick up a stone, then find a place for it, rather than looking for the right stone to fit a specific spot.

Build up the inside of the wall (‘hearting’) all the time. Use smaller stones, not gravel or dirt.

Stand back from the wall to look at it. Enjoy your creation.

Don’t rush – it’s more satisfying to put one stone in the right place than to place 10 quickly that look wrong.

THE OLD WALLER by Gordon Allen North

I see him now, the rangy, dry-stone waller, his long, lean frame and shabby, greening hat; his twinkling eyes; the way he'd greet a caller with friendly nod, content to work and chat.

His long, sinewy fingers, scored and calloused, selected stones with judgment long matured and placed them firmly, neatly - and unharassed - where the perfect stability ensured.

The wall and he seemed almost kin together, dun-coloured, earthy, with a touch of green, elemental, piquant as the weather that sweeps the rugged, Lower Pennines scene.

I shall not forget the rangy, dry-stone waller, his long, lean frame and shabby, greening hat: where is he now, and what celestial caller hails him today and pauses for a chat?

Submitted by Bob Waller