In the second half of the nineteenth century and the first half of the twentieth century, Sint-Joris-ten-Distel was the center of the lath splitting craft.
This memory is kept alive by the name of the main street: Lattenklieversstraat. It was after the municipal merger of Sint-Joris with Beernem in 1977 that the former name "Dorpsstaat" (Village State) was replaced by Lattenklieversstraat.
As a reminder of this typical local activity, the statue "de lattenkliever" (the lath splitter) has stood in front of the former town hall since April 22, 1994.
Thanks to the "lath splitter" (little lath splitter) by artist (and Saint-Joris player) Jean-Claud Vanhaecke, the Sint-Jorisnaar is reminded every day of how labor has changed over the centuries. The lath splitting craft died out completely in the mid-20th century. The cause was the advent of modern construction methods that used different techniques such as plasterboard, concrete elements, and other more modern construction techniques. Jean-Claud Vanhaecke (born in Beernem in 1947 and now living in St-Joris) about the sculpture he created in 1994: "At the time, I chose a simple and appealing figure to express the spirit of the hard work of the lath splitters in what was then St-Joris-ten-Distel. The concentrated strength of a seasoned craftsman like this lath splitter is given an extra dimension by the slanted tree stump. With this popular figure, I wanted to do my part to provide people with art that is understandable and self-explanatory. The sculpture, which is approximately 1.20 m tall, comes entirely from my imagination and is not based on an existing model. The sculpture is sculpted from Westerwald clay. The glazes and colors used symbolize Flemish pottery and the craftsmanship of the lath splitter. It was initially fired at 1,100 degrees Celsius. By firing it with a glaze At 1,240 degrees Celsius, the clay was petrified and seared to the core. This made the statue virtually stone-like and weatherproof.
At the time, residents of St-Joris, along with a selection committee led by then-Alderman for Culture André Vande Velde, chose the statue from five designs by local artists.
This work by Saint George native Jean-Claude Vanhaecke (born in Beernem in 1947) was unveiled in 1994. It is an ode to the craft of lath splitting, which was the main cottage industry practiced during the 19th and 20th centuries (until around 1950) in what was then Sint-Joris-ten-Distel. It consisted of splitting sawn tree trunks into thin slats, which served as a support for plasterwork on ceilings and interior walls. The inhabitants of Sint-Joris were also called the "lath splitters" at that time. The statue of the folk figure is approximately 1.20 m tall and sculpted from Westerwald clay. "The glazes and colors used symbolize Flemish pottery and the craftsmanship of the lath splitter," according to the artist.
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