Page 2
cemetery restrictions on size, but all in all, we emphasize the unique."Elio explained that the monument business requires a combination of old-fashioned know-how and new techniques to satisfy the needs of each customer. He reminded that the task of preparing monuments, involving polishing, carving and designing demands top craftmanship.The Fontana factory, built five years ago at a cost of $100,000, is staffed with a veteran crew of artisans and is stocked with the latest precision equipment.The men behind the firm's accomplishments include polisher Pietro Masnada, carver-sandblaster John Blake, stone cutter Joseph Cholewa, blacksmith Raymond Chrisman and plant helper Felix Luttrall. Elio's sister, Gloria, is office manager, and salesman Elmer Harris, rounds out the staff.Elio said the company, serving all local cemeteries, prepares monuments that range in cost from $150 to $1000 for average jobs to $20,000 for bigger projects. Averaged-sized monuments are contracted on a three-month basis,
although actual processing takes about 45 days. The firm imports topgrade granite from all over the world, while marble decorations are obtained exclusively from Italy.Fontana's stock of more than 1000 display monuments, the largest in nine Western states, run the myriad in design and technique.A typical example of the company's range is a recently prepared monument for the former mayor of Chinatown inscribed by Generalissimo Chiang Kai-Shek. The Fontana firm accomplished the feat by getting the Nationalist leader to forward a copy of his own lettering from Formosa.THE END
