By RACHEL CREE SHERMAN

Stone masons share a tradition rich in a reverence for the earth by creating beautiful, functional sculpture. It is an ages-old art, passed down from generations. Woods, fields and cemeteries are lined with walls around New England.

The tendency to create with stone came both naturally and out of necessity. Determined farmers fashioned fences from stones pulled in their fields. Those walls, made without mortar, stand the test of time.

In Vermont, today's stone masons carry on that legacy. Many of those elders have learned the craft of dry stone wall-building by experimentation. They include Starksboro's David "Stoney" Mason.

Now in his 70s, Mason came by his expertise more than 30 years ago.

"I made a horse barn into a garage," he says. "I had to put up an embankment and stone wall."

He did - and others noticed.

So many "people kept coming," he was forced to quit his job at a saw mill to pursue his avocation. "I've built about every wall in Starksboro," he says. "I like to do it. There's always something new."

His work earned him the Governor's Heritage Award in 2005.

Younger builders seek out a more formal education. They are becoming certified in dry stone wall-building through the Dry Stone Walling Association of Great Britain (DSWA). The DSWA, founded in 1968, is a charitable effort "committed to the preservation of dry stone walls throughout Great Britain and to the training of people in the craft of dry stone walling."

There are only two locations where exams are held in the United States: Kentucky and Vermont. The DSWA examiners in Vermont are teacher and author Dan Snow of Dummerston, and Michael Weitzner of Brattleboro, both seasoned professionals or "wallers."

Native Vermonter Mason is passing his knowledge and expertise along to his son, who works with him. Likewise, Chris DiStefano, who is studying for DSWA certification, drew his knowledge from his father. On land graced by ancient stone walls and rock outcroppings, DiStefano's father harvested stones and built structures on his Christmas tree farm in Cabot.

Studying environmental science at Johnson State College, DiStefano found his calling.

"Now, it's my passion. It's a natural extension of working with plants," he explains. "It's hard to look at one without the other ... If it's built right, it should be there for generations."

Other stone masons are of like mind. Stone masons let imaginations soar when fashioning new and different shapes and functions in stone structures, each one enhancing and blending its surroundings. From steps and retaining walls to patios and outdoor rooms, possibilities adapt to the landscape.

Mason sometimes incorporates items his clients bring to him, reflecting people's interests in designing his stone walls, such as those at schools.

"I made one that looks just like 'E.T.' We put it in the wall and it's still there all these years later," he marvels. At the town hall in Hinesburg, the wall is comprised of stones brought to the project by members of the town in a community effort.

Design is integral to building stone walls. It is of particular importance to the work of Forrest White of Plant and Stone Landscaping, who also is in the process of DWSA certification. White's degree from the University of Vermont in environmental studies led him to teach art to children. Transitioning into landscaping and building stone walls, he incorporates art into his work.

Charley MacMartin, owner of Queen City Soil and Stone, and Troy Headrick, co-owner of New Growth Gardens also are UVM graduates, in education and environmental studies, respectively. Both are certified by the DSWA and have collaborated on stone wall-building workshops.

MacMartin first "fell in love" with the work while helping a friend with his landscaping business in the Northeast Kingdom. Headrick collaborated with a friend on building stone walls and ultimately contacted Dan Snow.

MacMartin describes the approach to building a stone wall.

First, every stone must support the overall structural integrity of the wall. The depth of the stone runs into the wall, using gravity and friction to hold the stones together. In between the larger stones of the inner and outer walls, smaller stones are used for "hearting" or securing the larger stones in order to add more density or mass to a double stone wall.

If a wall is not well hearted, it will not stand. As the wall is built up, different layers or courses of the wall come together with "maximum contact, minimum joints."

Long, flat throughstones secure the wall. They are placed from front to back in a two-sided wall at three-foot intervals at about 22 or 24 inches high. MacMartin said stone walls must slant from a wide base, becoming narrower at the top.

Architecture, color, horticulture and desire all play a part in the mason's role, and each mason has a certain style. Though stone may come from quarries elsewhere, most of Vermont's masons agree when it comes to the state's fieldstone.

"If it comes off (a customer's) property, that's the best," Mason says. "I think they have more character."

Paul Wieczoreck of Champlain Valley Landscaping in Hinesburg is adamant in that regard. "(It) seems crazy to me;" he says, "people trucking stone from out of state (when) we're rife with glacial stone in Vermont."

In company with his fellow masons, Wieczoreck also places importance on using stone which is native to its own region, such as the mica schist of southern Vermont.

History, culture, strength, durability, beauty, permanence, community - words that are echoed repeatedly by those who work intimately with stones, plants and earth in regard to their creations.

"Let the wall go wherever it wants to go. It'll tell you," Mason said. "[Stone walls] all look good, even if they're falling down."