Sorry in advance for any sappy-ness to follow |
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My worst year: 2019
And a new startup
Plus lots of pics; scroll down
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My father passes away unexpectedly in March of 2019.
- Worst day of my life
- Worst week of my life
- Worst month of my life
- Worst year of my life
Finally, about a year later, it took till about April of 2020 to turn things around, as Covid was a splash of cold water to the face. It made me change dynamic of my business like a kick-start. And we changed everything we did that year. Whew!
Jump back to one of those four bullet points above. Imagine you are in one of those periods of grief, and someone steals from you. Talk about getting kicked while you are down.
That's what happened to dozens, maybe scores of people in my community. Kicked in the gut in your worst time. The local headstone/monument dealer in town went belly up. After being in business since 1853, and an ownership change, the newest owner had some "troubles."
He took 50-100% deposits on headstones, memorials, & engraving work. Then he went dark.. Crickets. He's gone. The money is gone, & you are out of luck. Some folks lost thousands of dollars.
Yup. My father's memorial stone was never done by the knucklehead mentioned above. So, last winter, I bought a retiring guy's sandblast business, thinking: I'll do Pop's stone, then do small scale memorial and stone engraving. What the heck, people already buy our stuff to get engraved for a large variety of reasons.
One thing led to another. Badda Bing, Badda Boom. Nothing small scale here at T.S. Mann. We'll replace that knucklehead. We've been here for 90 years, & I think we are the 2nd oldest business in town. We love granite. We can cut, carve, & install any size granite you could imagine. You'll see pics below, but we've engraved a 72" diameter millstone and installed it in a residential setting. We've fabricated an amazing project in Wellesley, MA for their Track & Football field complex. Plus numerous single stone projects all over the Northeast.
Engraving and setting a 600 lb. memorial stone in a flat lot a few miles away in a cemetery seems cake-work for us. Maybe not quite cake-work, but well within our wheelhouse. See below, I took a scroll trough my photo gallery to remind myself how good we are & what we've done.
So, we are proud to announce: We have just opened up T.S. Mann Memorials, for local and beyond memorial stone services. We can do headstones, memorial stones, & grass markers almost anywhere. Plus, locally, we'll be doing off-site engraving. Please, just a 25 mile radius for off-site engraving.
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Some of our previous installs |
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One of our favorite customers has a bunch of our material at his 1st and 2nd homes. One time, he bought a 5' diameter millstone, and negotiated free delivery 80 miles away. Oh, by the way, no forklift. So, I devised a plan to get it off the truck. We have since done it three times for him, and many other times elsewhere
Back in 2015, we called it: "Pulling A Milton."
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After getting used to it, and getting used to going to that address for granite, cedar, and other items, here are a few pics from that cool site.
One was the base of the amazing statue, and the other is now his address marker.
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The below customer asked for an install of a similar 60" diameter millstone for a fountain far north of us. We engaged a local landscaper with he right equipment, and we have a very appreciative family. #HappyWifeHappyLife . |
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The big apple has long been a milk run for us. I recall that my old yellow flatbed went to NYC over a hundred times. Lots for Polo / Ralph Lauren, plus numerous other jobs. At least three needed a crane for rooftop deliveries.
One time, we were asked to do an 11:30 PM delivery for a guerilla marketing event for the TV show Mountain Men. We supplied genuine hand-split rail fence, and they took over the north half of Union Square. First pic is the morning after the delivery.
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Our timbers in RL windows on Madison Ave. |
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On this job in central Massachusetts, we had the stone engraved, than we did the install for the customer. It was a 72" diameter millstone with a damaged edge. Perfect to lay into the ground for an address marker. |
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This one was a challenge for sure. We were asked to deliver a millstone to the 30th floor of the Boston Harbor towers. It was about 600 pounds, and they wanted it for a coffee table. Quite a view though! |
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Above: The customer's morning view.
Below: Looking down at my yellow truck from the 30th floor window.
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This job was for one of our favorite gals, photo circa 2014. That plank was only a little annoyed that it had to support a 500 pound trough. We later got really good as using ramps. Check out the church that bought two troughs. below. |
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This next job was a doozy. I got a call from a customer who wanted an antique trough in a very specific size. It was going to have a fire feature installed, and needed a certain shape to fit it. I usually tell people that it can't be done, antique stones come as they come. She insisted.
So, I priced it like I didn't want the job. Way higher than I though she would pay. She said yes. Yikes, now what? The check comes in the mail, and the return address is Park Ave in NYC, and the delivery address is in The Hamptons. Double yikes. I googled the name, and they are fairly prominent folks, the husband works for The President. Triple yikes.
Now, I am nervous. So nervous that she isn't going to like my work, that I make two, take the ferry to Long Island with both loaded on the truck, so she can pick her favorite. I'm sure I lost money on the first one, but made some back a couple years later when the 2nd one sold.
We deliver her fave to the back yard, this thing weighs half a ton, and we wheel it into the backyard, (very similar to how a headstone gets delivered to the cemetery plot, BTW).
When I leave, she gives me a hug. Crisis averted. I later make more trips to The Hamptons through the years.
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How far does our granite go? Well, we shipped some to an artist in Queens, and he kept the display in his warehouse sized living room, then it later went to Silicon Valley, CA. He is also one of favorite customers. Our granite ends up in art galleries and public displays all over the world. |
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Here I am drilling a 30" hole with a 24" bit, for a water feature. Yes, I later flipped it over, and luckily, the two holes met! This is our Bear Mountain pink granite. |
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Here is a prominent job where we were the granite supplier for the Wellesley High School athletic complex. Lots of work on this one, and per usual, nothing went to original plan.
Our granite was made to exacting specs, but someone on the job fouled up the left arc foundation. We had to scramble to get pieces remade in short order to make the unveiling, as the complex was in memoriam to a young man that lost his life. I went to the ceremony, and it was very nice, indeed.
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This trough was delivered/installed to the front yard of this NH home. |
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Below pic was a worn-flat millstone. We dressed it using traditional carving methods. When snow comes fast, I grab the nearest ballast for the back of the plow truck, the snow does a nice job to highlight the carving. |
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Here's another 60" diameter millstones, installed as a house marker. |
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This is perhaps our finest job ever. This is Live Oak, which was unearthed when Spaulding Rehab broke ground on their new location. Long story, with lots of press, i could easily do a whole newsletter just with work done for them. Here today, let's talk about how the left-side base was made, how we got it into the building, and how we installed it |
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We had to get these half-ton halves into the lobby of the brand new hospital with no machinery. The crazy architect designed the bench out of the S-shaped log. |
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Egyptian methods of lifting the back of the bench onto the granite & steel base. Similar methods used to be used to lift headstones into place. Maybe still do! |
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Look closely at the left base. The wood back of the bench is at a 15-ish degree angle for comfort. The crazy architect designed the devilish base that dove into the angled back at two different angles.
The crazy architect actually trusted me to drill the bottom of the wood to accept the stainless rods. I had to invert the back, and drill at two different angles with a 1.5" diameter drill bit. It was literally smoking going into that dense Live Oak. One shot to get both angles correct. We nailed it.
By the way, that crazy architect is now one of my dear friends, See more about him by clicking the below link:
Just kidding, Sterling's not crazy.
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I was literally wiping my brow after getting the job done, and doesn't a hospital employee that knew Sterling use the offset end of the bench, exactly as it was intended. |
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199 Petersham Rd,
Athol, MA 01331
Ph: 978-249-2206
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Alas, we need to talk about tax free weekend. If you're gonna buy any major amount of materials from us in the near future, this weekend is a good time to book the sale.
You don't have to take it now, and you can exchange the goods to something else if you change your mind on Monday. We have lots of flexibility. Cedar, granite, flooring. Anything we sell is eligible, as long as it's for personal use.
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