Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1901-01-19
ROOM At THE TOP,
Expert Steeplc Climber Talks Inter-
estfngly About His Profession.
From the Cleveland Ieader

| From the Cleveland Leader.
| Climbing tall church steeples is an easy,
healthful and pleasant way Of making
| living, according to Joseph B. Perry the
man who recently repaired and painted the
spire that towers skyward high above the
roof of st. Johns Cathedral at Erie and
Superior streets. He has been long at the
| business and has made enough money to
retire in a year or and spend the re-
mainder of his life comfortably on the
ground at his farm near Alpena, Mich.
Perry is getting toward forty-nine years
now, and he says that when man is fifty
years old he is old enough to give up the
steeple jack business. He is one of the
most famous steeple climbers. In the coun-
| try, and although he has taken all kinds of
chances in his work. he has never been
hurt. In repairing the steepe of st. John S
Cathedral In this city he took about as
dangerous a chance as has fallen to the
lot of any one.
He came here the day after the wind
storm that seemed to be blowing the spire
over almost and, although the wind was
about high that day, he assembled the
steep,e and tied rope around 1t. He went
up inside the steeple to the highest point
where there was a chance to get out, and
from there threw small rope around the
base Of the cross at the top With this he
pulled heavier rope into place and was
ready for work. He put a strong rope
around the steeple where it was beginning
to crack open, attached a block and tackle
to this and frightened the rope until the
Steeple was squeezed together again and
the crack closed. This put an end to the
danger Of the steeple blowing apart for
the time being, and after the wind mod
Grated he climbed the steeple again and
repaired 1t thoroughly. This took week.
For this work, although he could not work
all the time on account of the wind and
rain, Mr.. Perry got s225. When he was
through he made a contract to paint the
portions of the spire that need repainting.
Next spring he will gid the great twelve
foot cross that surmounts the steeple. The
gliding cannot be done in winter, because
the gold leaf cannot be made to stick in
cold weather.
Mr.. Perry is well known all over the
United States and Canada, being, perhaps,
the best known steeple climber in the coun-
try. All the summer he has been in New
York repairing one and another of the tall
steeples there. 1t is interesting to hear the
steeple climber talk of the things he has
done high above the heads of the people
in the streets.
II made $40 before breakfast one morn
ing he said to reporter 1T was at my
home in Alpena. The wind had blown the
cross from the top of the spire of one of
the churches. The steeple is 2O4 feet high
and the new cross that was to be put on
was sixteen feet tall and ten feet across.
There were some little windows in the
spire about fifty feet below the top and
went inside the steeple until I reached
had had a man working for a week to put
up the cross and he had failed. He built
a scaffold up from the roof of the church,
thinking that he would be abe to reach
the top in that way. He didn't get
near the top with the scaffold boy
could go in five minutes by climbing up
the inside of the steepe to the highest
windows. When he was through they sent
for me. They thought l ought to go up
as far as the other mans scaffold went,
but didn't want any of that in mine. 1
never used a scaffold in my life. I wouldn't
trust myself on a scaffold.
"They were in a hurry to have the cross
placed in position on top of the steeple,
and sent for me to do 1t. They offered me
s11O for the job. I got up at O'Clock in
the morning and went up inside of the
steeple to where the little windows are.
Then I got out and climbed up the light
ming rod to the top Of the steeple, fastened
a block and tackle, and had the men on the
ground below hoist the cross up to me. l
put 1t in place and fastened it SO that moth
ing less than a hurricane could blow 1t
away and then come down and went to
breakfast. I was less than two hours
the job, and it was making money faster
than ever made it before or have since.
1.-The easiest money 1 ever made was by