Gillespie sisters target larger limestone market
Journal Record, The (Oklahoma City),  Dec 9, 1997  by Emily Graham Journal Record Staff Reporter

From the outset, the 595 acres JoAnne and Cecie Gillespie inherited in southeastern Oklahoma seemed worthless. The land was too rocky to use for pasture, and an appraiser had valued it at a disappointing $100 an acre.

Then the sisters made a serendipitous find that led them to change careers and become the operators of one of two women-owned quarries in the United States. For among the wooded hills lay 90 acres of limestone 70 feet deep, where their grandfather Frank Gillespie has operated a quarry from 1910-15.

Ninety-foot trees obscured the quarry, and surface rocks were covered with layers of moss and dirt, but geological tests revealed the stone -- called Wapanucka oolitic limestone, for its location between Wapanucka and Bromide -- had a lower rate of water absorption, a higher density and compressive strength than the popular Indiana limestone. When the sisters made the find in 1991, Cecie lived in Tulsa, where she ran a convention and events business. JoAnne lived in France, where she had lived for 10 years and was working for a nonprofit international cultural exchange. "At that point the decision had to be made," JoAnne said. "If it was such a monumental project you can't do it part time and you can't do it from Europe. I made the commitment to move back to Oklahoma and get really serious about it." They formed the Wapanucka Oolitic Limestone company in Tulsa and began the process of reopening the quarry, closed for almost 80 years. It is the only operational limestone quarry in the state, according to the Oklahoma Geological Survey, with a staff of three employees besides Cecie and JoAnne. Now the sisters, both with backgrounds in public relations and marketing, have their eye on breaking into a larger market. To do that, they are seeking a partner to run the business side of the quarry. "Through all this we've kind of realized our limitations and strengths," Cecie said. "The marketing, PR and getting the stone out, that's been relatively easy. Managing the quarry has been a little more difficult." The quarry contains an estimated 235 million cubic feet of oolitic limestone that sells for $10 to $12 per cubic foot. To step up production in the quarry, the Gillespies want to open a fabrication plant in a town near the quarry to finish the stone. They estimate an investment of $1 million is needed to get the quarry to operating at full capacity. An additional $2 million to $2.5 million is needed to open a fabrication plant. "The future is to find a working partner that can help us take this deposit and the fabrication plant and to really get it out there on the market," Cecie said. The market for natural stone used in building has increased as architects have veered away from using primarily steel and glass, said Bob Fay, geologist with the Oklahoma Geological Society. Improved technology makes the end product more affordable, reversing a three-decade decline in usage, JoAnne said. "A lot of it is used in hotels and banks," Fay said. "There's always a demand by architects for something that's different. The quarries in Kansas say they can sell all they get." Frank Gillespie operated the quarry with Robert Galbreath, who discovered the Glenpool oil well. In its heydey, the quarry supplied the limestone marble used to build the Madill courthouse, the Abilene, Texas courthouse and the Holy Family Cathedral in Tulsa. "What is really lucky for us is, since these courthouses were built in the early 1900s, architects always want to know that the stone's going to hold up for many, many years," JoAnne said. "Although it's a brand new stone on the market, it's got that history of proven durability." Since Cecie and JoAnne reopened the quarry, their stone has been used in a renovation of the Whitney Museum; a Foley's department store in Temple, Texas; singer Andy Williams' Branson, Mo., home; and the penthouse in the Clarage Building in Dallas. The University of Oklahoma will use the stone in the grand rotunda of the Oklahoma Museum of Natural History's new building. "Some people have said we kind of took the cart before the horse because, with our marketing and PR background and enthusiasm for the stone, we have approached major architects," JoAnne said. "We basically sold the stone and gotten people really enthused. We now need to really get the quarry in full production and be able to continue with the momentum that we've established." Photographs of the quarry show how much has changed from the days the Gillespies' grandfather ran the operation. Technological advances have improved methods of cutting, transporting and finishing the stone. "The learning curve has been huge," JoAnne said. "We've spent years learning about the industry and every aspect of the business. But to see something being cut out of the ground to the final installation, whether it be a high-rise building or an interior lobby of a hotel or whatever, there's just incredible satisfaction and fulfillment to see the finished product."