Masonry and Square Dancing Bring Fulfillment

The BAC means a lot to me. I am 81 years old and do very little now. My Dad was a brickmason and contractor, so I started laying brick when I was a young boy.

I joined the Union at No. 7, Athens, Georgia in November 1939. Our Local dues were $1.00 and the IU dues were $1.50. The scale then was $1.00 an hour.

L. Crayton Phelps of Local 33 GA/NC/SC in Elberton, Georgia

Capital Construction out of Atlanta, a union company, built a theater in Elberton. I knew two union men who vouched for me and I went to work on the theater. The year was 1939. I was the last man to leave. I then went to work for F. Blair out of Decatur, GA. I worked for them until I joined the Navy in September 1942. I worked in Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Louisiana, Arkansas, Indiana, South Carolina, and Tennessee.

I was discharged from the Navy on April 1, 1946. I came back to Elberton and started laying brick. A housing project was built here and I got them to use union brickmasons. They asked me to do the masonry work, which I did. After the war there was a lot of housing going on and I formed my own company. I had always laid quarry tile but in 1952 there was a great need for someone to do ceramic tile work so I was very busy doing that and my brick work. I don’t remember when I received a letter from the Union secretary informing me I would no longer have to pay dues, but would become a lifetime member.

Again, I want to say I am a great believer in the Union and am very proud to be a union man for 63 years.

I am sending you a picture of a bell planter and a small part of my home. The bell came from a ferry in South Carolina.

Now I do very little masonry work. My hobby is Western square dancing. My wife and I have been Western square dancing for 26 years and have danced in 28 states.

L. Crayton Phelps
Local 33 GA/NC/SC
Elberton, Georgia