Colma Stone Cutting Shop Offers Journey Back in Time Page 2
		sandblaster that his father adapted for the business that allowed them to expand into new kinds of work, including ornamental stone work and granite facades and veneers. Right now, for example, the shop is working on the granite veneer for the new Federal Reserve Bank in San Francisco and on a spherical historical marker for Sweeney Ridge in Pacifica. "We are the only shop around here that still fabricates everything from stone," Mark notes. "We take everything down from 9- or 10-ton blocks." "All the other monument companies have stayed monument companies. My father is the progressive one who changed that for us." Mark also credits his father with developing a dust collector for the shop. The machine removes 95 percent fo the stone particles from the air in an effort to prevent silicosis, the cause of Valerio Fontana's death and that of most other stone cutters until recently. The machines would be useless, however, without the men who run them--Pete Masnada, a stonecutter from Italy who has worked for the Fontana's for 30 years, and Leon Rader, an engraver and carver who		emigrated from Russia three years ago. Masnada "takes the stone and works it through until finished," Mark Fontana explains. It is Masnada who cuts, shapes and polishes stone. Rader does "all the design work and lettering," says Fontana. A skilled draftsman, Rader creates all of the images -- such as protraits -- that appear on Fontana stonework, as well as doing the stenciled lettering. "These two compliment each other," comments Mark Fontana. "One is a stonecutter and one is an engraver, but somewhere along the line their jobs overlap." Describing both as "Old World masters," Fontana says it is "their artistry and attention to detail that sets us apart." For father and son, the family business brings both satisfaction and a strong sense of identity. "I like the creativity," says Mark. "There's so much variation and always a lot to do. I just like the business." Go to Page 3