Mason Birkoff, a third-generation member of a stone/brick laying tradesmen family, restores porch steps on a West Milford home built about 175 years ago. Photo provided by Owen Ginder. (
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Masonry, one of history’s most enduring building crafts, is still in demand today. It was first used over 12,000 years ago when early tradesmen stacked stones and connected them with mud to create shelters. As far back as 8000 BC, the massive stone walls of Jericho, up to 26 feet tall, were built without mortar, protecting people against invasion and floods. In Egypt skilled laborers carved limestone and granite bricks for pyramids, using copper tools and levers. During the Middle Ages craftsmen became more specialized with additional individualized work with concentration on projects and materials. The Renaissance introduced new techniques and materials including brick. Today, there are power tools and software for design.
Workers like Mason Birkoff of JB Masonry in West Milford continue to be an essential part of the construction industry. Like others of his generation, he was concerned about his future in the new AI era. Available options after high school graduation, included further education, but his research showed that some of the fastest growing opportunities are in the skilled trades, where there is a growing demand for professionals and proven job security. Mason’s father, a successful professional mason, was his teacher from the time he was old enough to hold a tool. The Birkoffs are aware that materials used, quality of workmanship and pattern of assembly can affect the durability of overall masonry construction and as a result they give special treatment to each job.
Other recent high school graduates are also choosing to enter trade fields after learning that trades are one of the fastest growing pipelines to business ownership. Transition requires high level cognitive problem solving and financial literacy. JB Masonry Company of West Milford is Mason’s future, in fact it always has been. His parents, Jill and John “Timothy” Birkoff named him “Mason” when he was born, and this set the stage for family continuance in business.
Although new materials and technologies have been introduced, modern masonry continues to draw from work procedures used in the past but now includes use of environmentally friendly materials and practices. Restoration is an important part of Mason’s work. He has recently completed projects to rebuild porch steps, and he has made repairs after creating a design needed to preserve the original character of an older house.
Early European settlers on land now known as the Township of West Milford included men from the Luke and Sanders family who long ago used stone to build sturdy homes and walls, some of which are still in use. Three generations ago, the late Dolores Dorothy and Jan Jacob Birkoff of Haarlern, Netherlands met there and were married around 1953. With their daughter, the late Jacqueline Monique Birkoff born in 1955, they came to live in America around 1956, settling in Prospect Park.
Their son John “Timothy” Birkoff was born at Paterson General Hospital on April 24, 1960. He attended Prospect Park Elementary School, then Passaic Technical School and graduated from West Milford High School in 1978. “Timmy” married Jill Gangi and with their family they continued to live in West Milford. Their son Mason was born Dec. 6, 2004, at Hackensack Hospital. With the mason trade a family business tradition it is no surprise the young couple named their infant son “Mason.” He graduated from West Milford High School in the Class of 2023 and is proud and happy to be carrying on the family public service work that began so many generations ago in the Netherlands. The family home and their business are located at 470 Ridge Road, West Milford.
