For Paul Hyde of Minicci Stone in San Diego, CA, working in the stone industry is the continuation of a family history in the trade that dates back to the 1800s. Covering a broad region in Southern California, the shop serves a steady flow of high-end residential clients as well as the commercial sector.
“I am the fourth generation of my family to work in the stone industry,” Hyde said. “In 1887, my great grandfather Cosmo Minisci emigrated from Calabria, Italy, to Bedford, IN, to work in the limestone quarries. Most of his kids worked in the stone industry, including his daughter Angie, who managed the Heltonville Limestone Quarry for 47 years, and his son Joe, who started Meno Stone, which still operates today on 22 acres outside of Chicago. His daughter, Rose, my grandmother, married Lester Hyde, who owned Indianapolis Cut Stone. Lester also worked for Indiana Limestone Co., where he designed many stone features, including some of the stone facades at Northwestern University. My father, Jay Hyde, worked at his father’s shop and in the local quarries.”