vegetate

vegetate. . to sprout, to grow like a plant, header: , Photo Courtesy of Siouxland Heritage Museums in Sioux Falls, South Dakota [SHM 78.35.28], Life of a Stonecutter , The life of a quarry worker included long hours and hard work. Cutting and moving stone took lots of energy, and the demand for quartzite kept the quarrymen busy. The typical quarryman worked ten hours a day, six days a week., In return for the hard work, he was rewarded with free housing and good pay. A stonecutter was paid according to how many pavers he cut in a day. Most workers made 1 to 2 cents per paving block cut, with the good workers earning from $3 to $6 a day. An especially skilled stonecutter once boasted that he could cut 500 paving stones every day for thirty days! The quarrymen were skilled, hard working, and proud of their work., photos: , Drake Quarries, 1888. Photo Courtesy of the Siouxland Heritage Museums in Sioux Falls, South Dakota [SHM 41.15.37], Stonecutter Motions. , Photo Courtesy of Jasper Stone Company., Free Time , When not at work, the quarrymen filled their free time in many ways. Games of cricket and soccer were often played in the fields of East Sioux Falls. The town had its own 'Prairie Rovers' cricket team that would take on neighboring towns. On Sundays, and especially on the 4th of July, the electric motor line would bring residents of Sioux Falls out to enjoy the park and activities at East Sioux Falls., photos: , Quarry Worker. Photo Courtesy of the Siouxland Heritage Museums in Sioux Falls, South Dakota [SHM 41.15.35], Workmen at the Perry Quarry. Photo Courtesy of the Siouxland Heritage Museums in Sioux Falls, South Dakota [SHM 78.35.22], Death of a Stonecutter , Not only was the work hard, it was unfortunately deadly over time. The long hours breathing in the fine silica dust in the quarry caused a crystallization of the lungs known as silicosis. Much like coal miners who develop "black lung" from breathing coal dust, in East Sioux Falls it was known as "stonecutter's consumption." This fatal disease was sadly common among the young quarrymen of East Sioux Falls., Information for this sign is Courtesy the Siouxland Heritage Museums in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Dr. Gary D. Olson, and Fanebust, Wayne. Where the Sioux River Bends: A Newspaper Chronicle. Freeman: Minnehaha County Historical Society, 1985.