Rock Gets New "Digs", The

Vermont Business Magazine, Jul 01, 2004 by Paton, Todd

The year 2004 is a notable one for Rock of Ages Corporation, a time to celebrate milestones and a time to welcome new beginnings. The new year marks the 20th anniversary of the merger of the Swenson Granite Company of New Hampshire with the Rock of Ages Corporation, the 80th anniversary of the building of the very first Rock of Ages' Visitors Center and the opening of the new Visitors Center and Retail Memorial Showroom adjacent to the manufacturing facility at 558 Graniteville Road in Graniteville.

The Visitors Center arose from necessity. The year was 1924. Vermont's own Calvin Coolidge was the first president to use the relatively new medium of radio to address the nation that year. George Gershwin composed what was to become his signature piece, "Rhapsody In Blue."

The advent of more affordable cars and better roadways gave rise to a national craze known as "automobumming," and soon intrepid vacationers could be seen along every thoroughfare, pulling off in cornfields at night, sleeping in makeshift tents and cooking on portable, oil-fired stoves. Travelers became such a nuisance that municipalities, small and great, began designating specific areas for these "autocamps". Clever entrepreneurs recognized the opportunities and began building the infrastructure of gasoline stations, motels and roadway diners needed by these new adventurous, middle-class travelers, and modern tourism was born.

This new-found travel mania created problems for the management of Boutwell, Milne & Varnum, the company that would be incorporated as Rock of Ages in 1925. Vermont was becoming a travel mecca and golf courses were springing up faster than dandelions in June. Tin Lizzies, packed with moms, dads, kids and accoutrements, rattled their way up the narrow dirt roads that led to the Barre quarries for a peek into the "Big Holes", enacting a scene that was played out over and over again: Little Bobbie and Suzie would squeal with delight as they darted precariously close to the gaping pit while mom and dad gazed downward in wonder at the orchestra of men playing a cacophonic symphony of stone and hammet, drill and wedge. How to keep the unwary onlooker safe from the unknown dangers of the quarry weighed heavily upon the foremen.

The birth of the Visitors Center was pure marketing alchemy transforming a seeming problem into an opportunity. To better service the needs of its growing quarrying operations, Boutwell, Milne & Varnum Company (Rock of Ages) had launched construction of a new edifice to house its machinists, fire department and quarry payroll office. Added to this design was the "retiring room", a cheery, wickerfilled sanctuary where visitors could sip lemonade while awaiting an escorted tour of the quarry. This guide kept the visitor safe and extolled the virtues of "the Rock of Ages", the trade name then used to market the Barre granite quarried by Boutwell, Milne & Varnum.

Rock of Ages continued to welcome ever-growing numbers of travelers. The retiring room was expanded into other portions of the building, becoming the "Guide Office". But these expansions proved inadequate during the post-war boom in travel. The new "Tourist Center" (later to become the "Visitors Center") opened mid-season 1962 and has offered a friendly welcome to millions of visitors during its forty-one years of service, remaining true to its original mission: to keep visitors safe and to educate and inform them of the exceptional quality, caring and integrity of Rock of Ages, hallmarks of its brand image that have set the standard for the memorial industry since 1885.

The upcoming year will witness a great new era in Rock of Ages' guest services with the grand opening of the spectacular new Rock of Ages Visitors Center and Retail Memorial Showroom. Designed by the firm of Gossens Bachman Architects of Montpelier, Vermont, the 5,000square-foot building features an eclectic mix of granite, wood and glass and is surrounded by trees to offer a sophisticated yet homey ambiance. The Visitors Center houses a theatre, displays, interactive computer stations and a gift shop. Narrated tours of Rock of Ages' Barre quarry operations and manufacturing facility will acquaint each visitor with the scope of Rock of Ages' expertise and capabilities, cementing positive brand awareness and providing Rock of Ages' Authorized Memorialists with invaluable exposure to tens of thousands of people each season.

The new Rock of Ages Memorial Showroom is a model for the memorial industry. Horst Design International of Cold Spring Harbor, New York, created the design for the retail facility and developed the initial concept for the Visitors Center; the showroom features highend, professionally lighted displays, exquisitely crafted memorials and stunning graphics. Experiencing the new showroom will expose our thousands of visitors to Rock of Ages' unwavering commitment to excellence in every aspect of customer relations, from initial contact and compassionate design counseling to fabrication, delivery, installation and follow up.