World Champion bricklayer Jerry Goodman of Blythewood and his daughter and co-worker, Heidi Abea, practice their craft on the floor of The Farm at Ridgeway. (Photo/Barbara Ball)
BLYTHEWOOD – When Larry Sharpe was looking for a stonemason to build a 40-foot stone fireplace at his Fairfield County entertainment hotspot, The Farm of Ridgeway on Highway 21 between Ridgeway and Blythewood, he wanted the best. And that’s what he got when he hired Jerry Goodman of Blythewood. And Goodman has the title to prove it. He was named the 2014 World Champion Bricklayer at the Spec Mix Bricklayer 500 in Las Vegas last year as well as the Top Craftsman, winning a total of $10,000 in prize money. And Goodman is the only bricklayer to win both top awards during the 13 years of the competition.
When asked about his feat recently, Goodman, a man of few words, just shrugged and said, “That’s what I enjoys doing. Stonework is my favorite,” he said. “You can be more artistic with stone.”
In a magazine interview following his win, Goodman talked about the creative side of his profession and revealed his fascination with Michelangelo’s work, “since I also like to carve and work with stone. That’s primarily the masonry work I do – stone masonry,” he said.
Goodman was assisted in the work that won him the world titles by his daughter Heidi, one of two of Goodman’s children who started working with him in their teens and now make up his crew.