Goucher College's Historic Preservation Program Returns to Cathedral Stone
Last week, Cathedral Stone Products welcomed back the graduate Historic Preservation program from Goucher College for the program's second annual visit — and if our Founder, Stonecutter, and President Dennis Rude has anything to say about it, it won't be the last.
About 15 students, along with several of their instructors, spent the day getting hands-on experience with limestone repair using Jahn M70, working alongside Dennis in a live patching session. There's only so much you can learn about compatible masonry repair from a textbook, and the students didn't hesitate to get their hands dirty, working the mortar and applying patches under Dennis's guidance.
Beyond the workshop, the group toured Cathedral Stone's manufacturing and laboratory facilities, where they saw firsthand how compatibility and proper installation come together to make restoration work last. The lab tour was a big highlight: students were especially struck by our salt testing program and the ways salts interact with mortar, lime, and coatings — including latex, acrylic, elastomeric, and potassium silicate systems. It's one thing to know that incompatible materials can fail; it's another to see the evidence of how and why.
Dennis was put through his paces by a group of sharp, curious students, and one in particular stood out. Liliana's questions about pointing, lime, and compatibility kept the conversation moving in interesting directions, and her enthusiasm made for a genuinely fun teaching session.
Visits like this one are exactly why we do what we do. Preservation is a discipline that depends on passing knowledge forward — from the people who've spent decades in the field to the students who will carry it into the next generation of restoration work. We're proud to play a small part in that, and Dennis is already hoping Goucher makes this an annual tradition.
