Interview with Mr. Michael Curcio
October 3, 1997
Q & A:
1. How long have you been employed in the Slate Industry?
Mr. Curcio has been employed in the Slate Industry for over 20 years now. Before this, however, Mr. Curcio was a teacher. He has also worked at Ingersol-Rand, a large corporation that produced semi-conductors.
2. How long has the Dally Slate Co. been open?
Dally Slate Co. was founded in 1948 by the Anthony Dally family.
3. What importance does/did the industry bring to this area?
The Slate Industry has made this area what it is today. Without this industry, Pen Argyl would probably not exist. People from all over the state of Pennsylvania along with immigrants from England, Italy, and Canada came here for work. Before the opening of Dally Slate Co., families that were doing well sponsored immigrants to come to Pen Argyl from other countries. The families then housed and fed this immigrant quarry worker until he was able to provide for himself. The owners of quarries were also known to recruit skilled laborers.
4. What are a majority of your products and for whom are they produced?
Some of our major products include floor tile, blackboards, pool table tops, and various structure pieces (i.e. window sills, electrical insulators, seats for stools). A large number of our products are now shipped across the country, though we do get orders from local contractors and homeowners.
5. Can you describe the production of slate with our current technology?
First, you must be able to locate deposits of slate. To accomplish this, core samples are taken. These samples are taken by a type of drill that will go anywhere from 400 to 1000 feet below the surface. The profile can then be examined for slate content. After the rubbish has been cleared from the area in which the slate is located, we must drill "wells" into the slate. These wells then allow us to cut the slate. Until recently, a band saw was used to cut deposits from the ground. We now use something that resembles a large chainsaw. This type of saw has a blade that is about 10 feet long. Instead of having a metallic chain, it uses a rubber chain with a series of diamonds impregnated into it. Water is then pumped over the saw so that the diamonds actually hydroplane over the surface of the slate. Now that the slate is ready to be taken from the ground, men use large chisel shaped bars to pry the slate apart into sheets. Slate is an ideal rock for this because of its content of mica. The mica allows us to split the beds of slate as we split a deck of cards. Once the slate is separated, a mechanical hoist carries the slate from the quarry to an area where it can be worked on. Our slate mill is where all the actual processing takes place. Large pieces of slate are split to the desired thickness and then are processed by people who operated various types of machinery. At this point the slate it cut into floor tiles, slate shingles, structural objects, or other such products.
6. What is your average day like?
We really don't have an average day because there is no way to tell what types of problems we will encounter when harvesting the slate.
7. Is there any type of competition between using slate products and new synthetic materials?
There is a great deal of competition between slate and synthetic materials. Examples of this would be the "Greenboard" and the "Whiteboard". Many organizations are buying these types of boards because they are cheaper to produce. Even though they are cheaper, they are certainly not as durable as slate is.
8. What type of geological vein or deposit do you mine?
Located between the Blue Ridge Mountains, we harvest slate from the Diamond vein. The area from Slateford to Pen Argyl, ending in Slatington is commonly known as the Martinsburg formation. The type of slate in this formation is known as a soft slate. Joints of slate in this formation commonly run from East to West and North to South. Since nature is not perfect, there are different types of impurities found in slate. A common impurity is carbon deposits, which are indicated by black steaks in the slate. An ideal type of slate would be "Clear Slate", meaning that there are no carbon deposits.
A special thanks to Mr. Curcio for his contributions to our research on the slate industry in Pen Argyl.
Pen Argyl History | Keller Massacre | Carousel | Slate Industry | Slate Shanties | Leo Godshalk, Quarry Worker | Michael Curcio Interview | Food of the Slate Belt | Maryella Correll Interview
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