Personal History

Announcement Thanksgiving 2005 was a memorable event for Mike Patten of Heritage Walls. Testing by: Norman Haddow of Scotland Dan Snow of U.S.A. Mike is now a qualified holder of: THE DSWA INTERMEDIATE CERTIFICATE

Being of Irish decent, my ancestors and the complete United Kingdom have the privilege of Dry Stone Walls all over the countryside. There is no shortage of rock on that island, and the art form is mastered to it’s finest.

Residing in Durham Region for the past 30 years, many changes have occurred that have influenced my strong drive to return dry stone walling to Canada.

Now you see many farms turned into subdivisions/residents for our fast growing area. The strong, massive old barns once holding our cattle, horses, sheep etc are now being torn down with their stone foundations, the old fields lined with rock moved by hand from the fields and are now used as fill. Area’s ploughed down to make new highways and widen existing roads are a common site. Progress is an amazing and essential practice, but at what cost?? In the meantime we are being stripped of our heritage of Canadian farming and the beauty of natural stone along the countryside.

A vast majority of residents of Ontario are descended from England, Ireland or Scotland where Dry Stone Walling is abundant. Our descendants were not akin to using their strong hands and backs to produce strong stone walls that would last hundreds of years and be as individual as the master building them.

It is my goal to see this form of walling return to Durham Region. Three years have passed since first picking up my first rock and placing into a Dry Stone Wall at Marjory Mason-Hogue gardens in Uxbridge with the watchful guidance of John Shaw-Rimmington. From that point on I would look at a hill or piece of property and say “ This isn’t complete without a dry stone wall” This is true addiction, and can only comment it’s the most satisfying, stress free clean addiction that could exist today.

With a background in woodworking and cabinetry, building arches and forms for such works as the bridges, and arches for walls and nooks, allows my skills to be used for good sound displays of natural works within Canada.

Any seminar that came available from the DSWAC you would see me there. Not one would go by where we didn’t learn something new, thanks to John Shaw-Rimmington.