The Man Who Sold Stone There was a man who lived by the side of the road and sold stone. He was hard of hearing so he had no radio. He had troubles with his eyes so he read no newspapers. But he sold good stone. He put up signs on the highway telling “How good The Stone Was.” He stood on the side of the road and cried: “Buy Stone.” And people bought. He increased his stone orders. He bought more equipment to take care of his trade. He finally got his son home from college to help him out. But then something happened. His son, said, “Father, haven’t you been listening to the radio? Haven’t you been reading the newspapers? There’s a big depression. The European situation is terrible. The domestic situation is worse.” Whereupon the father thought, “Well, my son’s been to college, he reads the papers and listens to the radio, and he ought to know.” So the father cut down on his stone orders, took down his advertising signs, and no longer bothered to stand out on the highway to sell his stone. And his stone sales fell almost overnight. “You’re right, son,” the father said, “We certainly are in the middle of a great depression.” SOURCE: Cleveland Quarries Company

The Man Who Sold Stone

Amherst, Ohio Sandstone Center of the World

At 93 years of age, Foyster Matlock, poses for this picture outside of the Cleveland Quarries #8 Mill. Matlock retired from the Quarries in the early 1980s and is one of the oldest living retirees from the quarries. While this story can not be attributed to Matlock, he did have several sons who were also employed at the quarries. January 2007 picture by James Hieb.