“ THE STONE WHISTLE ” GRANITE MONUMENTS & HEADSTONES 1975 BARRE GRANITE PROMO FILM XD50344

Join this channel to get access to perks: Want to learn more about Periscope Film and get access to exclusive swag? Join us on Patreon. Visit Visit our website This film is presented by the Barre Granite Association; a barre granite guild comprised of Barre-area granite quarries and manufactures of memorials and other granite products. It stars John Forsythe, Susan Jane and Diana Debaun. John Forsythe was a well-known renaissance man whose career spanned six decades. The scene is set in Barre, Vermont and it displays the superiority of the Barre Granite through a narrative of a man named John and a young girl Melissa. The film opens with John Forsythe’s red convertible Jeep moving up the roadway (:49). He pulls into a cemetery (1:39) and begins making a stencil of one of the head stones (3:01). Melissa enters the scene (3:21) as John begins to explain how the monuments which had been made from soft material were beginning to deteriorate (5:57). Headstones made from Barre Granite held up much longer (6:01). John takes Melissa on a ride (6:24) as he details the history of monuments. Valley Forge monuments such as the Peace Monument (8:35) were constructed in Barre granite. Harry Truman’s gravestone (8:42) and the Coal Miner’s Memorial in West Virginia (8:55) are also pointed out to be of Barre granite. A pile of discarded and inadequate granite sits by the roadway (9:26). John and Melissa take a tour conducted by the Rock of Ages Corp (10:16). On the tour they visit a granite quarry and learn about its functionalities (10:55). Workers are lowered into their stations (11:26). Various methods of cutting granite follow including the jet piercing method (11:55). Blocks of granite are lifted (12:55) to be taken to a storage yard or saw plant. John takes Melissa to meet stone cutters and watch how they operate (14:23). One of the men is working on a model of ‘The Holy Family’ (14:58). A 30 ton slab is cut with a diamond saw (16:54). The monuments are polished (17:06). Blueprints of future monuments are highlighted (17:29). Stencils are cut into a rubber shell (18:15). One stone undergoes its first sandblast (18:45). By the second and third cut, the stone develops its shape and form (19:20). The Barre Granite logo is carved into the stone (20:09). John makes a pit stop on route for Melissa’s home (20:31). Here John stops at the cemetery to show which monuments were crafted by Barre Granite (20:53). A symbol showing the deceased was a Free Mason appears (22:45). Another shows the deceased to have been a member of the Catholic Daughters of America (22:51). Grapes and vines are etched into stone (23:54). John delivers Melissa home (25:53) and they agree to meet the following day at Melissa’s great grandfather’s burial plot (26:12). Here he reveals he had the headstone made from Barre granite (27:06). The credit screen follows (28:01) and the film was produced by The Film Group Inc. (28:22). The Barre Granite Association (BGA) still exists today. It is comprised of Barre-area granite quarriers and manufacturers of memorials and other granite products, as well as other businesses that provide products and services related to the granite industry. We encourage viewers to add comments and, especially, to provide additional information about our videos by adding a comment! See something interesting? Tell people what it is and what they can see by writing something for example: “01:00:12:00 -- President Roosevelt is seen meeting with Winston Churchill at the Quebec Conference.“ This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit