Christoph Henning interviews

Cristoph Henning, at the time of these interviews, is a stone carver and stone cutter working in Portland, Connecticut. He does stone fabrication work for the brownstone quarry operated by Mike Meehan in Portland, along with brownstone and other stone restoration work around the state and country. He was born and grew up in Erfurt, East Germany, eventually relocating to the United States after the reunification of Germany and meeting his future wife. He was trained as a stone cutter and stone carver in Erfurt, Germany, before relocating to the United States. He now lives with his wife and son in Berlin, Connecticut, a few towns west of Portland. His house has a brownstone foundation. Cristoph Henning's story and expertise provides an uncommon look into two areas of interest to this project: the nature of Portland brownstone as a stone and an object of workmanship; and the continued role of the brownstone quarries in shaping the trajectory of the Portland, Connecticut, community, as evidenced by Mr. Henning's eventual settlement around the site of the quarries. The reader is able to ascertain the importance of the presence of the brownstone resource in shaping development of the Portland community through Mr. Henning's particular viewpoint as both a stone carver and a relative newcomer to the story of the Portland brownstone quarries.