Yesterday around noon, I received a surprise phone call from my dad's cousin -- an 89-year-old woman from the Detroit area. She called to give me an interesting bit of information.
Her mother's father (Henry Eifert) made the chisels that were used to carve Mount Rushmore!
I hope have the details straight. In any case, here it goes . . . Eifert (who had a shop in Chicago) was known throughout the eastern part of the United States for his tool-making abilities. Gutzon Borglum (who was in charge of the carving of sculpture) contacted Eifert and asked if he would make the chisels. In fact, Borglum sent him granite from Mount Rushmore so that he could specially design the tools.
I'd like to say that this makes me a direct descendant of someone who was part of the carving. But alas. I'm related to her father's side of the family. Even so, I'm thrilled to have this piece of information.
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