THE FUNDAMENTAL ROLE OF QUARRYMAN

THE EXPLOITATION OF QUARRIES WOULD NOT BE POSSIBLE WITHOUT QUARRYMAN.

These men of all generations, of different nationalities, mainly Italians, have a very painful because the porphyry is very hard, as much as the resistance of the workers. exercising their profession in all atmospheric conditions, in the noise, dust, risk of accident, they work without protections, without helmet, gloves or goggles.

The rates are infernal, the salary minimum and social protection almost non-existent. Yet they are there every morning to start over with colleagues, displaying team spirit, solidarity flawless. It is at this price that the company prosper and survive.

THE WORK OF THE QUARRYMAN

THE WORK OF CARRIERS IS EXTREMELY DIFFICULT BECAUSE OF THE EXPOSURE OF WEATHER WORKERS, MATERIALS HANDLING VERY HEAVY ROUGH, USE OF TOOLS REQUIRING A LOT OF CAUTION.

It is therefore very physical and dangerous, requiring a good constitution and a lot of courage.

But, in addition to these requirements, it is important to know the stone, to know how it reacts to mine blasts, chisel impacts under the blows of the masette of the cobblestone cutter.

And then, of course, you have to know how to find the “thread of the stone”.

All this is less physical but requires learning and cannot be acquired only with a lot of patience.

Another condition is essential: love teamwork!

1ST OPERATION: MINING AND SLAUGHTER

MINING

Mine holes are dug with steel bevel iron bar operated by shocks, by hand. The holes are loaded with powder compressed mine whose effect tends to to split, to dislocate the rock.

high explosive compounds, recently discovered, such as fulmi cotton and dynamite, do not not suitable for the extraction of porphyry in the form of large blocks, as regular as possible. Later punchers tires have replaced the bar of iron.

THE SLAUGHTER

The explosion does not always detach completely the block of mass rocky; then you have to detach it by means of small steel wedges forced into slits produced by the explosion of gases in the hole mines or knocked into holes dug with the quarry needle.

2ND OPERATION: SLITTING

The felled blocks are distributed in manageable pieces by means of steel wedges forced into holes tool-dug.

3RD OPERATION: CUTTING

It consists of cutting the stone into small size and shape blocks approached as closely as possible those that the slab or the cobblestone finished; he therefore gives the floor rough that is often cut to clear the pavement on the spot where it is used.

4TH OPERATION: SIZE

This last work consists in putting the raw paving in shape and dimensions determined. For the tiles, for heavy cobblestones, the worker uses the needle, struck with the hammer or hand mallet.

For pavers 10 to 15 cm high, 15 in length and 25 in width whose weight varies from 9 to 12 kilograms, the size is made with the épinçoir which consists only into a small hand mace square ends with edges sharp.

The cobblestone worker is everything comfortably seated on the ground, legs crossed, wielding with one hand the tweezer and, on the other, the stone shape.

CAREER DAY

IT'S A LONG DAY RHYTHMATED BY THE SOUND OF THE TRUMP (SIGNAL OF BEGINNING AND END OF ACTIVITY).

It runs from 6:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. with a break at 8:00 a.m. for breakfast lunch.

At noon, the workers take their meals at home or in canteens.

During the meal, we proceed to necessary firecracker shots.

Then resumed at 1:30 p.m. until 5:30 p.m. After the workers' day, we carries out mine blasts.

From the beginning of May, the quarry background turns in a village of blue canvases. For protect themselves from the scorching heat, the workers take shelter under a canvas and wear a cap on their head with fabric on the back.

Their water bottle is surrounded with a damp cloth to keep relative freshness.

Work is by the task or by price made, except for the maneuvers which are paid by the day. Payroll takes place fortnightly.

In 1925, the fortnight represents 150 hours of work for a salary of about 220 francs, which, reduced nowadays, represents approximately 174 euros.

CAREER PROFESSIONS

THE MINER PERFORATOR
drill the holes in the rock and place the powder.

THE SLICER AND THE APPRENTICE SLICER
cut the blocks with the big ones needles and wedges. They need a perfect knowledge of the "thread" of the rock. For two or three years, the employer charges them for the powder and hours of miners. At the end of the month, they owe money to the Career Society. It ends up lead to a strike that ends in the removal of these abuses.

THE TAILOR
finishes the paving stones. THE slicer and tailor work still in squad. They carve in average 90 cobblestones per day, 120 for the best.

THE RETAILER
recuts the broken cobblestones.

THE MARKER
draw a sign of different color on the paving stones cut by each workman. Everyone has his heap and it is rare that an incident occurs concerning the number of pavers.

THE PUMP ATTENDANT
starts the pumps to evacuate the water that floods the quarry (the bottom of the quarry is lower than the sea level, moreover it receives the runoff and springs). The drain pipe passes under the railway bridge and the water is dumped at sea.

THE BLACKSMITH
remakes the needles at the quarry forge. There are also blacksmiths independent.

THE STABLE WORKER
takes care of the maintenance of the premises and horses. In 1911 there are 10 horses: Mutton, Moussi, Coquet, Chicken, Jewel, Lamy, Butterfly, Favorite, Cadet.

THE WAGONIST
pushes the cart to the place of loading. He fills it with shards of porphyry to feed the crushing.

THE PAVING SPLITTER
cuts pavers and curbs sidewalk from the rock he broke. He then works the pavement to bring it to the desired dimensions, with his tools (mallet, hammer short and long, split at an angle by the 2 ends - nipper).

THE GREASER
is responsible for the proper functioning pulleys.

THE DRUG

THE TRAIL WAS CONSISTED OF: OF A RAILWAY of small section. It was one of the activities more important in operation. Indeed the material extracted from the earth is extremely dense and very difficult to move whether raw, finished or under form of waste.

The workstations were often far from each other, it was the most effective way to ensure the smooth running of the operation.

METAL CARS with a capacity of 0.80 m3. When it was founded, the company had 29 iron wagons and 8 wooden ones. THE quarrymen erected and dismantled the rails according to the development of works.

On the horizontal parts they were pushed or pulled manually. At In the beginning, there were even horses to perform these tasks.

In the inclined planes the wagons were towed by a cable which worked continuous, it was 4,000 m long for a circuit of rails of 2,100m.

The winches which actuated this mechanism worked by steam until 1934 before the electrification of the operation.

The carrier assigned to the trail had to be robust because the exercise was very physical.