[history x]

The First Decade of Operations at Logan Quarry

Posted by Rose Ann Woolpert on Mar 18, 2015

The second in a series on the history of Logan Quarry by Robert Cozzens, who worked with Graniterock for over 62 years, this excerpt is taken from a history he created in 1974.
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Getting Started at Logan Quarry, as Told by Robert Cozzens

Posted by Rose Ann Woolpert on Mar 18, 2015

Robert Cozzens started work at Granite Rock Company’s Logan Quarry in 1916. Over his long career with Graniterock, Bob worked for Company founder A.R. Wilson, his son Jeff and widow Anna, and for Bruce and Betsy Woolpert. Bob spent his first four years with the Company living in the Quarry Bunkhouse, and filled many roles in a work relationship that lasted for more than 62 years. He eventually served on the Graniterock Board of Directors, and while on the Board was asked to put together a story of the Company’s history. This is the first of a series of stories taken from several papers and presentations Bob gave to Board Members in 1974.
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Twenty Years Ago - Graniterock and the Malcolm Baldrige Quality Award

Posted by Rose Ann Woolpert on Mar 18, 2015

Surely one of the most exciting events in Graniterock’s history took place twenty years ago, in 1992. That was the year the U.S. Department of Commerce named Graniterock a winner of the prestigious Malcolm Baldridge National Quality Award.  In December 1992, a lucky few Graniterock Team Members were able to attend the ceremony in Washington, D.C. where President George H.W. Bush presented the award.  
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The Easton Family of Santa Cruz

Posted by Rose Ann Woolpert on Mar 18, 2015

Toward the end of the 19th century, many ambitious young men were drawn to careers in mining and construction. They dreamed of opportunity in the untapped riches of the West. Wallace Stegner’s novel, Angle of Repose, tells one such story and provides insight into the life and aspirations of western geologists and engineers of that era. The Easton family of Santa Cruz had three sons who followed a similar path, became civil engineers and played a large role in the early story of Graniterock and the development of California.
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Don and Pearl Sallows: Logan Quarry Pioneers

Posted by Rose Ann Woolpert on Mar 18, 2015

Don Sallows was a third generation Californian who began work as a switch engine operator at Granite Rock Company’s Logan Quarry in 1922. His grandparents, John and Mary Sallows, arrived from Liverpool, England in 1866 and settled in Santa Clara, where John found work driving a team of horses, the 19th century version of “truck driver”.  Don’s father, Arthur, was born in 1873 in Santa Clara and made his living at a local lumber mill.
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WHAT LESSONS HAVE WE LEARNED OVER THE LAST 112 YEARS?

Posted by Bruce W. Woolpert on Mar 18, 2015

When an organization extends over more than one hundred years, many opportunities arise to reflect on the achievement.  I am often asked, “So what lessons are there from the last 112 years for you and Graniterock People?”  It’s a good question.
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Building Relationships

Posted by Rose Ann Woolpert on Mar 18, 2015

On May 8, 1905, Granite Rock Company received the following letter from the General Manager of the Santa Cruz Beach, Cottage and Tent City Corporation:
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Easton & Wilson Bill of Sale, circa 1905

Posted by Rose Ann Woolpert on Mar 18, 2015

During the last decade of the 19th century, Kimball G. Easton and Arthur R. Wilson became partners in the firm of Easton & Wilson, a construction company engaged in street construction and paving in the vicinity of Oakland and Berkeley, California. 
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Early Quarry Housing

Posted by Rose Ann Woolpert on Mar 18, 2015

Throughout its 111 year history, Granite Rock Company has had family ties that have gone beyond the workplace and extended to connect with the lives of its people and communities. In the 1920’s, Granite Rock Company built a number of houses near the entrance to Logan Quarry (now named the A.R. Wilson Quarry).  
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Rancho las Aromitas y Agua Caliente

Posted by Rose Ann Woolpert on Mar 18, 2015

From time to time, interesting artifacts turn up in the storage boxes and cubby holes of a 111 year old company. This summer, we found a folded, worn and water stained map in our storage vault. Now restored and framed, it is a wonderful addition to our Granite Rock archives. On March 2, 1907, Policronio Estolastico de Guadalupe (Lupe) Anzar, his wife Maria G. Anzar, and  Robert E. Easton signed this map of a planned division of the “Rancho las Aromitas y Agua Caliente” land, then owned by the Anzars.  
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