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The Forge of the Blacksmith During
the infant years of our century[1],
It was in
Grandfather
was said by some to be a handsome and strong man. He was During
the summer months, when the work was plentiful, the farmers were in constant
need of plow points to be either sharpened or rebuilt. There were also plenty
of horses to be shod and wagon wheels to be repaired or re-spoked. A most interesting sight was for one to watch
as Grandfather worked with iron heated in a hand-turned forge. Each time that the handle was turned, air
would blow on the hot coal in the forge, causing the coals to glow hotter. When the iron would become red-hot, he would
remove it from the fire with long-handled thongs, place it upon the anvil, and
beat it into whatever shape that the situation at hand called for. He would then place the still-glowing iron
into a large iron tub of cold water to cool before handling it. Plow points that had to be rebuilt were done
almost the same way. Borax would be put
on the work point as a new piece of hot iron was beaten onto it. While beating the red-hot iron, the
combination of Borax and heat would weld the new point onto the plow. It would then be cooled, put into a vise, and
sharpened almost to the sharpness of a straight razor. Horse
shoeing was also a trademark of a good blacksmith. Sometimes, upon getting a mean horse, Grandpa
would have to place a twister over the horse’s nose. As the hooves were being prepared to be shod,
the twister would be tightened by William Davis, his helper[5],
until the horse would stand still. In
shoeing a horse, Grandpa would place the horse’s hoof between his knees, pull
off the old shoe, clean the hoof, file it with a rasp, and select the proper
size shoe for the horse. He would then
nail the new shoe into the hoof with horseshoe nails, snip the end of the nail
off as it came out the other side of the hoof, and file it smooth so as not to
be noticeable. The horse did not feel
any pain as the shoes were nailed on because a horse’s hoof is much akin to our
own fingernails. In the
winter months, with all of the crops harvested and in storage, he would take
orders for wagons and buggies and make them from the axles up. He would build them, paint them, and finish
them with beautiful scroll designs that he would paint by hand. During this time he would also make
horseshoes, horseshoe nails, and various other tools needed for the coming of
spring. Grandpa once invented a new “Middle-buster” plow
and applied for a patent. A competitor
supposedly took his application from the mail, sent it in under his own name,
and soon appeared with the very same plow for sale. One of his prototypes of that plow is still
in my possession[6].
Possessing
the name of “Blacksmith” seemed to entail more than sweat and hard labor. Grandad was a man
of wit and charm and a lover of children.
Being considered to be a “Jack-of-all-trades,” children would gather to
hear his ghost stories. Each year, as
school teachers would bring children by his shop, he would entertain them by
bending iron bars with his teeth and by shoeing ponies. He owned the second car in Vaiden and bought
a new one every year thereafter. He was
the first person in Vaiden to have a radio.
The radio was a crystal set with ear phones and neighbors would stop by
to “listen in” each night[7]. He was also the first person in town to have
a television and would often be asked by his guests if the T.V. entertainers
could also see the viewers. From having
heard of his wit, I can only assume he told them yes. These are
only a small portion of the accounts of my Grandpa as explained in my many
conversations and letters with my mother and of her recollections of his early
years as told to her by her relatives and friends. Fond memories are surely the best
recollection of all. Grandpa
Johnnie Hambrick died three years before I came into this world[8]. I only wish that I could have known him well
enough to tell you of first-hand memories of my own, but at least I am a better
person for having known of him by words of kindness, love, and praise. ________________________________________ [Ed.
Note: The above story was written by me
(Ronnie Collins) for my Hinds Community College English Composition class, and
was submitted on November [1]
[3] Grandfather built the first Blacksmith shop in Vaiden, to my knowledge. There is no indication of any previous blacksmith shops in Vaiden prior to this one. However, if I can identify a blacksmith shop prior to this in Vaiden, I will duly note it in these footnotes, without disturbing the integrity of the preceding text. [8]
Grandfather Johnnie Hambrick was
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