As the fire roared through Notre-Dame Cathedral’s oak-beamed roof shooting flames into the Paris sky, many feared the irreplaceable had been lost. Thanks to heroic firefighting, the essential structure of the world heritage site survived, but can it be restored to its Gothic glory?
The day after Notre-Dame burned, a Croatian stone masonry school offered support. The school has been teaching hand carving for over 110 years.
Jean-Claude Bellanger, secretary general of France’s Compagnons du Devoir, a historical guild, was quoted in the press as saying “we have the savoir faire in France to renovate Notre Dame either as it was or with innovation; the real difficulty is the main d’oeuvre, the workers. We don’t have enough young trained people to respond to the demand because manual work is undervalued. But if you learn one of these trades it’s a passport for life.”
Craftspeople called into action
Almost immediately, over one billion dollars was pledged to rebuild Notre-Dame. Other offers of support came forward. The day after Notre-Dame burned, a Croatian stone masonry school offered support. The school has been teaching hand carving for over 110 years. Christian Frenzel, based in Williamstown on the edge of South Australia's Barossa region, volunteered his skills as a cathedral stonemason. He believes that carving a piece of stone that would go in Notre-Dame would be a huge honor. These craftspeople know Paris will need them and they are willing to help.
Perhaps one of Notre-Dame’s urgent messages is that we need to invest in restoration skills, training stonecutters, masons, roofers, carpenters and more.
All across the globe, there are registered, trademarked, and historical buildings needing maintenance or restoration by a dwindling number of artisans specialized in traditional techniques. Perhaps one of Notre-Dame’s urgent messages is that we need to invest in restoration skills, training stonecutters, masons, roofers, carpenters and more.
Let’s reconsider these noble jobs. And appreciate the value of work done by hand.
A lifetime's work
We reached out to Scott Conwell at the International Masonry Institute (IMI) in Bowie, Md., to find out more about the shortage of skilled labor here in the United States. IMI is challenging the notion that being a tradesman is something you were born into, skills passed down from father to son. Conwell shared that Dave Wysocki and his colleagues at the International Masonry Training and Education Foundation (IMTEF), also in Bowie, Md., are modifying recruitment strategies, working tirelessly “to recruit men and women into the trowel trades, whether they are newly graduated from high school, U.S. veterans returning to the workforce, or any individual looking for a long and rewarding career.”
In Washington, D.C., two master stonemasons spend their days in a masonry shop around the corner from our National Cathedral, the sixth largest cathedral in the world.
In the meantime, there is work to be done. In Washington, D.C., two master stonemasons spend their days in a masonry shop around the corner from our National Cathedral, the sixth largest cathedral in the world. They’ve been on the job for over eight years already. While some of the repair work is done by robots, the carving is all by hand. It will take many more years to complete.
In the end, manual and artisan trades can provide a lifetime of work, even in today's world. And organizations like IMI are looking to create a future workforce by providing free training to make it happen.
