100 Years Ago at Granite Rock Company

100 years ago, in 1912, at what was then known as the Logan Quarry (now A.R. Wilson Quarry), horse-drawn carts were replaced with a new Porter 0-4-0 steam locomotive. Granite Rock Company Engine Number One was used to haul carloads of broken rock from the quarry face to the crusher. The quarry face was 100 feet above the crushing plant and Southern Pacific mainline railroad tracks, and rock was dropped through chutes from above the crusher to the plant.

Also, according to a notice in the Watsonville Register-Pajaronian, “The Granite Rock Company has established a big mushroom plant adjoining its rock quarry over near Aromas and is making it pay. The mushrooms are handled by M. Kelly and large shipments are made every week to San Francisco.”

75 years ago, in 1937, Granite Rock Company filed a Social Security Employer’s Return form with the Internal Revenue Service which showed fifty-three employees earning a combined total of $5,018.47 taxable wages during the month of December. At the time, 1% of wages were paid into the fund by employees and 1% by the Company. Adjustment credits were deducted from each group, and the final Social Security tax paid out that month totaled $73.14.

50 years ago, in 1962, Bruce and Betsy Woolpert donated an “old time steam shovel” from the Logan Quarry to the city of Watsonville’s Parks and Recreation Commission for use as a “playground piece” at the city’s Ramsay Park.

25 years ago, in 1987, upon the retirement of his mother Betsy, Bruce W. Woolpert took over leadership of Graniterock’s  Product Divisions.  He began a new focus on educational growth and continuous improvement with the introduction of the Individual Professional Development Plan, or IPDP. Also that year, a new drum mix asphalt plant was installed at Redwood City.

Today, in 2012, “Yes, we will” is the answer Graniterock People use to guide each day’s response to the special product and service needs of our customers.