Looking back to the Stone Age, we can see how very important stones have been to man, especially in early tool making and as weapons.
We have always liked to rearrange stones, moving them to make stonewalls to keep the sheep in; building bridges; and positioning them, as at old Stonehenge, perhaps for burial rituals.
Stone Arch Bridge, visible from Rt. 202 in Stoddard, NH, looks beautiful with cascading water and surrounded by autumn leaves. photo by James Cummings
This roadside marker tells about the Stone Arch Bridge.
The Stone Arch Bridge is composed to two Roman arches, an arch that is quite different than those built in Moorish-occupied, southern Spain. The bridge has stood for many years!
We do not have to look far to see stones in the New England Landscape. Some are giant boulders, left by glaciers of the Ice Age, that cannot be moved easily, or at all, by any conservative means.
View of a NH stream in October 2009
Stones are markers. Stones of granite or marble for cemeteries provide occupations for stone cutters in New Hampshire and Vermont. In the past, many more stone fireplaces and chimneys were built, an idea supplanted by bricks.
Stones can take on a religious meaning, such as Celtic cross monuments. There is one in New Brunswick, Canada that was put up as a tribute to the Irishmen who reached those shores.
Indeed, the word “rock” has become symbolic of “strength” as in, “My friend was my rock during that terrible time.”
A traditional hymn, “Rock of Ages,” refers to God. The term “rock” is used a number of times in the Bible. Matthew 16:18 states:
And I also say to you that “you are Peter,” and “on this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of Hades shall not ‘prevail against it.”
Matthew 7:24 says:
Therefore, whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man which built his house upon a rock.
My house, for example, is built on granite rocks, a hard rock that has held up the house since 1821. New Hampshire is known as, “The Granite State.”
There is a real skill to working with stones to build a stone wall that will continue to stand. We see so many stone walls in the woods today and anyone new to the area would ask, “Why were stone walls built in the woods.” The fact is, New Hampshire used to have a lot of cleared land for grazing. As farming dwindled, the forest has taken over again and we have secondary forests growing now.
Rocks or stones that seem commonplace to us here in New England are a big deal elsewhere. In fact, there was a law passed to prevent the dismantling of existing stone walls, and the trucking of stones, out of state.
The other point I will mention is that New Hampshire would not have had a many textile mills along flowing rivers throughout the state, in the nineteenth century, were it not for the strength of the underlying rock formations that supported them. Many places in Vermont do have not the same kind of hard rocks that New Hampshire possesses, thus, there were not the same quantity of mills built there.
I remember reading a charming book for children titled, “Stone Soup.” Of course, we had the musical rock group, The Rolling Stones; and Bob Dylan’s song, “Like a Rolling Stone.”
Have you heard the saying, “A rolling stone gathers no moss?” Have you kissed the “Blarney Stone” lately, or read about “The Sorcerer’s Stone” in the Harry Potter novel? Do you recall the childhood saying, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me?”
Perhaps, your heart is cold as stone? Have you seen “The Old Stone Face?” Can you think of other references to stone?
Funny how one photo can get me rolling on a certain theme. I think I’ve exhausted my knowledge of stones. Over and out.
Patricia Cummings
Quilter’s Muse Publications
