Soft-spoken, self-effacing Henry (Hank) Spaulding is a third-generation Carbondale native with a ready smile and laugh. He is also a skilled stonemason with Gallegos Corporation and an avid outdoorsman. He recently sat down with The Sopris Sun.
Sopris Sun: Both sides of your family have been here for quite some time, at least since the beginning of the 20th century?
Hank Spaulding: My dad is from here, and my grandfather [Spaulding] was born in Meeker, and he [later] came here. My great-grandpa had a cabin up on Bulldog Creek above Avalanche Creek. He would spend the summers up there and winters down here at the Dinkel Building. He was a prospector. My mom’s dad ran cattle up the Fryingpan. I grew up right where my mom still lives on Highway 133.
My grandpa was over in Meeker, and Teddy Roosevelt came over for my grandpa to take him on a lion hunt. They were all sitting around with him and the kids. We have a picture of it somewhere.
Sun: You went to school here?
HS: Yeah, grade school, high school, everything.
Sun:What are some other childhood memories?
HS: Dad used to be a core driller for the government, and we would take a trailer and stay up at Ashcroft for the summer. He drilled for Mid-Continent too, so they would know where the coal was at. He drilled Ruedi to see if it would hold water. I worked at Aspen Highlands for a couple of years when I was going to school. We’d park cars, and then we’d get a pass to go skiing. I started skiing when I was three years old. My dad worked at Buttermilk. He’d take me to work and put me in a class. So, I skied all the time, but I don’t anymore.
Sun: Did you ever work for Mid-Continent?
HS: Yes, I was on a maintenance crew called Pitkin Iron. We had a machine shop, [and I did] ironwork and metalwork for the coal mine — a lot of maintenance. I went down [into the mines] a few times for maintenance; nothing I really wanted to do.
Sun:At some point you got into stone masonry.
HS: I was working for Sutherland Construction. They would hire us in the summer, and we’d go up to Aspen and build these big houses. We did everything except the plumbing and electricity. My dad was working for them too, and [with the Sutherlands] all of us were fathers and sons working together. My dad got into more of the stonework instead of the carpenter work; he said you can’t do stonework if it’s freezing. So, I started doing stonework. We did some of the first dry-stacked granite [stonework] in Aspen – no mortar in between the stones, only on the sides and back. We’d pick the stone from Penny Hot Springs.
Sun:When did you start working for Gallegos?
HS: In 1992. After Gallegos began using tents and heaters around stonework projects during the winter, I started working year-round.
Sun:Any projects stick out in your mind?
HS: I worked on Prince Bandar’s place when I first started with Gallegos. I worked on the pools at Snowmass Club and the Snowmass Rec Center. I helped restore the community church in Aspen down by Clark’s Market. We took almost every stone out and replaced it with new mortar. Most recently, I worked on the remodel of Glenwood Hot Springs.
Sun: One of your projects won an award?
HS: Willow Court home in Aspen. Gallegos won the 2021 Pinnacle of Excellence award from the Natural Stone Institute. The home took about eight months; dry-stack construction.
Sun: I hear you have an ingenious way of moving big slabs of rock around.
HS: If you put golf balls underneath [the stone], it will roll in any direction you want it to. My dad came up with that, and it works very well.
Sun: Do you have a favorite hunting spot?
HS: We’ve hunted up in Coal Basin since I was 14. [Where we go is] a really deep ravine, and if you don’t know where the trails are, you can get in a lot of trouble.
Sun: Is there a hunting story that stands out?
HS: Me and my buddy went bow-and-arrow hunting. I saw something moving in the trees and got real close, and out walks a bear. I lifted that bow and thought, “Oh, I don’t think this is going to be very good.” So, I put it down and started throwing rocks at the bear. The bear was as scared as I was, and he took off running. My buddy was backed up to a tree by a sow and cub, and I started screaming and scared them away.
Sun: Do you have a favorite fishing spot?
HS: Up on the Flat Tops. My dad tied this fly, and I tie it now. Not many people have ever seen it. There’s nothing in the water that looks like it, which is weird, but I can catch fish when no one else is.
Our Town features introduce you to neighborly folks.
Have a suggestion for someone we should spotlight?
Email news@soprissun.com