Over twenty years ago I was asked to repair a cheekend section of original dry stone wall gate entrance along Balsam Lake Road near Kirkfield, Ontario. You can see the repaired walled in the photo above. It had been clipped by a delivery truck cutting the corner too close. Thankfully the original curved section, just beyond that cheekend wall, was not damaged.
The curve had remained completely in tact for over a hundred years, a living historic example of stylish dry stone proportion and line, not just showing what kind of craftwork could be done, but also demonstrating how well a proper dry stone wall can last in Canada. I was so impressed seeing that curved section for the first time that I chose it to be the logo for the Dry Stone Wall Association of Canada,( later to become Dry Stone Walling Across Canada.)
The curve has subsequently been damaged several times over the years by snowplows and a falling tree or two and repaired each time. Here's a recent shot of the damage done by a large tree.
Each time we repair the wall, we do it reusing the existing stone. Today we fixed the curve and the cheek end again and enjoyed the fact, that beautiful dry stone walls can actually be repaired, not just bulldozed. Most materials used in walls and fences made of wood or concrete, when they are damaged have to be trucked off to the dump, and all new material brought in to build anew.
