The suburban citizen., 1901-02-09
FAMOUS STEEPLE JACK
EASY, HEALTHFUL AND PLEASANT
WAY OF EARNING A LIVING.

sasy, healthful and pleasant way ol
making a living, according to Joseph
B. Perry, the man who recently re-
paired and painted the spire that tow
ers STEWARD high above the roof Of
st. Johns Cathedral at Erie and Su-
periOr streets He has been long at
the business and has made enough
money to retire in year or so an!
spend the remainder Of his life com
fortably on the ground at his farm
near Alpena, Mich. Perry is getting
toward forty-nine years now, and he
says that when a man Is fifty years
old he is old enough TO give up the
steeple jack business. lie is one of thc
most famous Steeple climbers In the
country and although he has taken all
kinds of chances in his work, he has
never been hurt In repairing the
steeple of st. Johns Cathedral in this
city he took about as dangerous
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 as high that day, he
ascended the steepe and tied rope
around it. lie went up inside the stee-
pie to the highest point where there
was chance to get out, and from
there threw a 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 strong
rope around the steeple where it was
beginning to crack open, attached a
block and tackle to this and tightened
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 be-
ing, and after the wind moderated be
climbed the steeple again and repaired
it 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 1925. When he
was through ne made a contract to
paint the portions Of the spire that
needed repainting. Next spring he
will gild the great twelve-fOOt cross
that surmounts the stecple. The gild-
ing cannot be done in winter because
the gold leaf cannot be made to stick
in cold weather.
Mr.. Perry is we'll known all over the
United States and Canada, being, per-
haps the best known steeple climber
In the country. All the summer he has
been in New York repairing one and
another of the tall steeples there. II
is interesting TO hear the steeple
climber talk of the things he has done
high above the heads Of the people in
the streets.
81 made S11O before breakfast one
morning" he said to a reporter "It
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 204 feet high and the new
cross that was to be put on was six
teen feet tall and ten feet across
There were some little windows in the
spire about fifty feet below the top
and I went inside the steeple until 1
reached them That much of it was
easy. They 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 able to reach the top in
that way. He didn't get as near the
top with 3 scaffold as a boy could go in
Ave minutes by climbing up the inside
OF the steeple to the highest windows
When he was through they sent for
me- They thought l ought to go up
as FAR as tha other mans scaffold
went, but I didn't want any of that in
mine. I never used scaffold in my
life wouldn't trust myself on
scaffold.
"They were in hurry to have the
cross placed in position on top OF the
steeple, and sent for me to do it. They
offered me $110 for the job. / got up
at 5 o'clock in the morning and went
up inside Of Ii steeple to where the
little windows are. Then | got out
and climbed up the lightning rod to
the top of the steeple, fastened block
and tackle and had the men on the
ground below hoist the cross up TO me.
/ put it in place and fastened ii so that
nothing less than a hurricane could
blow 1t away, and then come down and
went to breakfast l was less than
two hours on the job, and it was max
ing money faster than l ever made it
before or have since
"The easiest money I ever made was
by going up in a balloon. l happened
to be in a town up in Canada where
the old Barnum circus was showing.
10 make It more interesting the circus
people were in the habit Of Offering
S1OO to any one who would 60 up in
the balloon with the aeronaut when he
made an ascension. This was to make
1t look as though it were very dan
gerous thing to so up in a balloon. l
had nothing particular to do, and so l
waited until the balloon was about
ready to start, and the offer of 500 I o
any man who would go mp had been