Blacksmith Shop At Fair Showcases New 4-H Program
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Tim [email protected]
Fairgoers can stop by the shop and see 4-H students and instructors using age-old methods to shape steel into tools, household items and decorations.
"I'll tell you one thing though; it's easy to break a sweat in this place," said Jack Truman, 13, Warsaw. Truman was working in the shop Tuesday, hammering and twisting a glowing-hot piece of steel into the shape of a hook. He is one of 31 local 4-H'ers who have joined the blacksmith program since it began in March.[[In-content Ad]]"It's different and I like to try new things," said Truman. "I also like to make things."
Truman said students are taught how to use the tools, tend the fire in the forge, and heat and shape the metal. He said the lessons start out basic as do the students' projects.
"First we learned how to make hooks," he said.
After mastering the basic skills, students are ready to try something more complex. For their second project, the students make a set of fire tools.
Mike Yazel, Mentone, is one of five instructors for the program. Yazel is a working blacksmith. He said he took up the craft by necessity.
"I got into period woodworking and a lot of the tools needed, they don't make anymore so you have to make them. So, I learned blacksmithing," said Yazel.
Yazel, who also participates in area living-history demonstrations, said the 4-H program gives him another way to teach and pass on a traditional skill.
"Living in a video game world, I think it's a new thing for a lot of (students) to get into something hands-on," Yazel said. "But it gives them a sense of worth when they see they can make something with their own hands."
Yazel said the appeal of the blacksmith program has been nearly equal between boys and girls. Of the 31 students, he said, 14 are girls.
During the fair the students have a chance to share what they've learned. Their creations are on display, and they field questions from people who stop to watch them work.
Yazel said the techniques demonstrated in the shop have been used to shape metal for a long time.
"We've worked metal like this easily for a couple thousand years now," Yazel said.
As far as Indiana goes, Yazel said, blacksmiths would have been some of the first non-native settlers to make their homes here and provide tools for farming and building homes.
The shop building was originally built in 1923, north of Warsaw. Early this spring, the building was taken apart and reassembled at the fairgrounds west of the Home and Family Arts Building. Yazel said the building project was a community effort involving a lot of donated time and materials. In keeping with this year's fair theme, "Greener Days," Yazel said most of the building is recycled, including the walls and floor.
"It's a very green building," he said.
Kosciusko County is one of only three Indiana counties with a 4-H blacksmith program. Though the program is new, it's already attracting upcoming students, like Danielle Olds, 10, Silver Lake.
"I basically love fire," Olds said. "With this, you can use fire and make stuff you can use. I'm really excited to join."
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Fairgoers can stop by the shop and see 4-H students and instructors using age-old methods to shape steel into tools, household items and decorations.
"I'll tell you one thing though; it's easy to break a sweat in this place," said Jack Truman, 13, Warsaw. Truman was working in the shop Tuesday, hammering and twisting a glowing-hot piece of steel into the shape of a hook. He is one of 31 local 4-H'ers who have joined the blacksmith program since it began in March.[[In-content Ad]]"It's different and I like to try new things," said Truman. "I also like to make things."
Truman said students are taught how to use the tools, tend the fire in the forge, and heat and shape the metal. He said the lessons start out basic as do the students' projects.
"First we learned how to make hooks," he said.
After mastering the basic skills, students are ready to try something more complex. For their second project, the students make a set of fire tools.
Mike Yazel, Mentone, is one of five instructors for the program. Yazel is a working blacksmith. He said he took up the craft by necessity.
"I got into period woodworking and a lot of the tools needed, they don't make anymore so you have to make them. So, I learned blacksmithing," said Yazel.
Yazel, who also participates in area living-history demonstrations, said the 4-H program gives him another way to teach and pass on a traditional skill.
"Living in a video game world, I think it's a new thing for a lot of (students) to get into something hands-on," Yazel said. "But it gives them a sense of worth when they see they can make something with their own hands."
Yazel said the appeal of the blacksmith program has been nearly equal between boys and girls. Of the 31 students, he said, 14 are girls.
During the fair the students have a chance to share what they've learned. Their creations are on display, and they field questions from people who stop to watch them work.
Yazel said the techniques demonstrated in the shop have been used to shape metal for a long time.
"We've worked metal like this easily for a couple thousand years now," Yazel said.
As far as Indiana goes, Yazel said, blacksmiths would have been some of the first non-native settlers to make their homes here and provide tools for farming and building homes.
The shop building was originally built in 1923, north of Warsaw. Early this spring, the building was taken apart and reassembled at the fairgrounds west of the Home and Family Arts Building. Yazel said the building project was a community effort involving a lot of donated time and materials. In keeping with this year's fair theme, "Greener Days," Yazel said most of the building is recycled, including the walls and floor.
"It's a very green building," he said.
Kosciusko County is one of only three Indiana counties with a 4-H blacksmith program. Though the program is new, it's already attracting upcoming students, like Danielle Olds, 10, Silver Lake.
"I basically love fire," Olds said. "With this, you can use fire and make stuff you can use. I'm really excited to join."
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