“A word after a word after a word is power.” ~ Margaret Atwood
Now let’s go to the roof of the bar, shall we? Two of four parapet sides are topped with terracotta tile secured with cement. We call them terracotta tiles, we even have a color we call terracotta, but really “terracotta” is just Italian for “Baked Earth” (derived from the Latin “terra cocte”). Technically, Terracotta is any fired piece of clay such as brick, tile, porcelain, and the tile we see above and below that we call Terracotta. It’s also sometimes called sewer tile, and if you’ve ever seen older sewer pipes dug up, you’ll recognize the similarities. This particular tile is glazed, making it nearly impermeable to water, and that’s why it’s often used on roofing, sewers, floor tiles, and so on. This tile bore the maker’s stamp (above). I did a little digging and found that the Lee Clay Products company operated in Clearfield, Kentucky just outside of Morehead. That means I’ve driven past the factory a billion times over the last 50 years without knowing. The location started as a timber company, but when much of the virgin timber dried up, they transitioned in 1925 to architectural ceramics like brick, sewer tile, and chimney toppers. Much of the industry had mechanized by this point, but not entirely. When the extrusion chute in the giant vats of clay became clogged, ironically by the clay, the workers had to get into the vats and basically kick the clog on through the tube. One Workers Comp case against the company told the story of a poor man who lost his life when the clay collapsed in on him as he was clearing the extrusion chute. He was found face down under 3 feet of clay with his foot still in the chute. I doubt OSHA would approve of such a hands-on solution these days. Nevertheless, Lee Clay Products remained in business until 1970. I don’t know why they closed. You can still sometimes find their “sewer tile” pottery at estate sales, antique markets, or on ebay. If ya’ll ever find any, let me know.
Barbara Schirmer
Interesting.