Against this backdrop, President Fackenthal resigned on May 1, 1913, after recommending a program of retrenchment and abandonment of the old furnaces at Alburtis. His successor, chosen on July 1, 1913, was Ralph H. Sweetser, who held largely opposite views. Sweetser modernized not only No. 1 and No. 3 stacks at Hokendauqua, but the old No. 7 stack at Alburtis. He also attempted to restart local limonite mining, an effort which proved a costly failure. By 1915, No. 6 stack at Hokendauqua had been abandoned (leaving only No. 1 and No. 3 in operation there). The limestone flux for the furnaces, until now obtained from local dolomitic limestone quarries, was now replaced by high-calcium lime from Annville, Pennsylvania, eliminating the last local source of raw materials.