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A Special Cornerstone

Former Sparta men completing stonework on new Busch Stadium

BY CHRISTI MATHIS
FOR THE SOUTHERN

Sunday, July 10, 2005 12:38 AM CDT

ST. LOUIS - When the St. Louis Cardinals open their brand-new Busch Stadium next year, the handiwork of a company owned by two Sparta natives will be seen all over the new sporting facility.

Throughout the stadium visitors will see remarkable stone artworks courtesy of Wishstone Chisel & Mallet Inc.

It's a dream come true for brothers Gabe and Steve Drueke, both lifelong Cardinal fans. The Druekes, along with brother Ryan, grew up cheering for the red-and-white-clad sluggers from St. Louis, frequently taken by parents John and Janet Drueke to see the ball games, often from seats high in the nosebleed section.

The three brothers grew up and all moved away from Randolph County - Gabe now lives in O'Fallon while Steve and Ryan reside in Atlanta - but they're still all huge Redbird fans.

Thus, when Gabe and Steve heard a new stadium was being built for the Cardinals, they wanted badly to be a part of it and were confident they had just the thing to offer.

Gabe has always been artistic but when it came time for college, he took the "safer" route and chose graphic design. However, a college professor saw his interest in stone and soon Gabe was immersed in an independent study course, creating letters in stone.

He experimented and honed his gift, making relief stone carvings as gifts for family and friends. Meanwhile, he worked unhappily as a graphic artist. His first week on the job, he pulled an all-nighter and within four months, the man who loved to work with his hands found himself miserable spending hours and hours sitting in an office at a computer.

"Sitting behind a computer 10 to 12 hours a day was not my bag," he says wryly. He enjoyed working outside so he worked for a few years as a construction foreman in the Metro East area but in his spare time, continued his passion - carving Indiana limestone. Finally, about 2½ years ago, he decided to follow his heart and Wishstone was born.

"Initially, I hoped to do craft shows and make a decent living," Gabe said.

But, Steve had other ideas. While Gabe creates amazing hand-carved works of art, Steve handles the company marketing, sales and promotion and Ryan helps where possible. Steve created a Web site for the company at www.wishstone.net, and handles the majority of the calls from prospective clients.

In a short time, Wishstone has placed its original works in libraries, media centers and a variety of other commercial and residential venues.

And then the Druekes heard about the new Cardinal stadium and just knew they had something special to offer.

Getting that message to all the right people wasn't so easy though, Steve said. He and Gabe spoke to contractors, architects, Cardinal officials - anybody and everybody they could make connections with. Eventually they connected with team project manager John Loyd and Jim Chibnall of HOK Sports Architects, who liked what Wishstone had to offer.

The Druekes got a meeting with just five days to put together a presentation to impress Cardinal owner Bill DeWitt III and all who had any say-so on the stadium project.

"We really touted the romanticism," Steve said. "We grew up in the area. We're lifelong Cardinal fans. This is something we can give back to the Cardinals."

And the rest, as they say, is history.

From page 1C

Wishstone was hired to create a series of custom-made, hand-carved medallions for the new stadium walls. Eleven original designs in sizes ranging from 18 by 16 inches to 32 inches square have been created. Gabe met with the Cardinal museum curator to review the entire history of the organization and all of its symbols. The easily identifiable symbols chosen include a baseball, the distinctive "StL," the 1997 Cardinal logo and more. The stadium towers will feature mirror images of the giant Redbird logo. Including the customized cornerstone, Gabe has created 12 hand-carved limestone pieces for the stadium.

"There's something unique about what we do," Steve said.

In fact, Gabe has already completed the original works of art for the stadium and they're now waiting in his studio.

But, that's not exactly what fans will see at Busch stadium. As is typical, Gabe makes rubber castings of his original designs and the medallions that will hang at the ball field will be of cast stone, exact replicas of his carvings.

The original carvings will go to the stadium owners, who will decide just where they'll be placed. There's even a possibility of other projects at the stadium, although nothing's definite.

Some of the Cardinal medallions will be placed right at fan level where they can be touched and admired. That's one of the things the Druekes are looking forward to.

"It's really exciting now to look at the stones sitting in my shop and to know where they're going, but I don't think it's really going to sink in until I go to my first game with them in the stadium and look over people's shoulders and get their reaction and hear what they have to say," Gabe said.

The stadium is the "first high-profile project" for Wishstone, Steve said, and the Druekes can hardly wait for opening day 2006 - the day the new Busch Stadium is slated to welcome fans. In the meantime, Gabe continues to work in his studio, listening to every Cardinal game for inspiration as he carves.

He adamantly insists "I'm guaranteeing they're going to the World Series" this year. And, the brothers are hopeful that the Wishstone medallions at the new Busch Stadium will serve as little extra good luck charms for the "Birds on Bat."

mathis5@hcis.net

618-357-8391