Local 1 Pennsylvania/Delaware Life Member Francis Doyle

JOURNAL: ISSUE 2 - 2013

Local 1 PA/DE Life Member Francis Doyle.

In keeping with his family's long and proud association with the bricklaying trade and BAC dating back to the late 1800s, Francis Doyle started his apprenticeship with Local 1 PA/DE in 1946 at the age of 17. After serving 3,000-hour apprenticeship, he became a bricklayer journeyman and was hired as a foreman with C.O. Struse & Sons, where he spent most of his career supervising the brick construction of numerous buildings along the east coast as well as working as a Mason Training Director at Structural Clay Products Institute. 

In 1979, Brother Doyle was employed by Western Waterproofing Co. to work on the restoration of First Bank of the United States. It was not an easy task. "This process involved the removal and replacement of fifteen thousand bricks in order to restore and preserve this historic building," he said. Brother Doyle's craft skills did not go unnoticed. Upon finishing the project, he was contacted by the National Park Service (NPS) and was asked if he would like to help restore the Independence Hall. He gladly accepted the job offer. 

While working closely NPS architects, Doyle cut out joints, replaced bricks, made full-sized drawings of the window arches and molded bricks for the Independence Hall. Shortly after he finished this project, the NPS offered him a permanent position. "I would never imagine that I would be spending the next 14 years restoring historic buildings around the country," Brother Doyle said. "They proved to be the most fascinating and memorable years of my working career." 

Although Brother Doyle retired at the age of 68 from the NPS, he has been an active volunteer with the Fish and Wildlife Service for more than a decade as a photographer.