Blacksmiths Forge Fence for Memorial
By Eric Fish

Kalkaska resident Pat Hayes hammers out the end of an iron rod at the 23rd annual Mackinac Island Blacksmith Convention. This year, the blacksmiths finished building a fence to surround the war memorial at the city park on Market Street. Mr. Hayes has been a full-time blacksmith since 1969.

The sound of hammers clinking on iron and cheerful conversation echoed down Market Street Saturday, August 4, as 25 blacksmiths gathered at the Benjamin Blacksmith Shop for the 23rd annual Mackinac Island Blacksmith Convention.

Working as a unit, the blacksmiths, who range from full-timers to hobbyists, heated, twisted, reshaped, and bent iron for a fence to be installed at the veteran's memorial in the city park off Market Street. They worked most of the day Saturday and finished Sunday morning before passing visitors.

The Benjamin Blacksmith shop has a long history on the Island. It was purchased by Robert H. Benjamin and a partner in 1885 and remained in the Benjamin family until 1965. Today, it is one of the downtown museums operated by Mackinac State Historic Parks.

Stu Smith models an iron handle inside at the Benjamin Blacksmith shop. He worked with Dan Nickel and Kent Cummins on door handles and other memorabilia for Ste. Anne's Church.

Blacksmith hobbyist Lyle Cline has attended all 23 conventions on Mackinac Island. His love for the craft started in the 1960s when he and his family stopped on Mackinac Island while on vacation.

"Various guys like me caught the interest in it," he said, nodding to others working in the building.

Over time, Mr. Cline became more skilled in the craft, thanks to seminars, books, and peers. He's now a retired history teacher from Mio and has more time to spend on his favorite hobby.

"I had a feeling for it in a historical sense," he said of his love for blacksmithing. "Taking steel, which is so stiff and unforgiving when it's cold, and heating it up, you can make it do an enormous amount of things. It's a very intriguing medium to work with."

With their medium of wrought iron, the blacksmiths have completed numerous projects in the convention's 23 year span convention's 23 year span that can be seen around the Island. Past projects include a restraining fence by the water fountain in Marquette Park, appliances for a fireplace in the commissioner's cottage at Fort Mackinac, a weathervane on the Officer's Stone Quarters at the Fort, and numerous memorabilia at Ste. Anne's Church.

"One of the neat things about it is you never really learn it all," Mr. Cline said.

The idea for the convention was pondered in the early 1980s when Islander Dennis Bradley worked as the master smith in the blacksmith shop. Mr. Bradley and others who were interested in the craft discussed the fact that the Michigan Artists Blacksmiths Association (MABA) met primarily downstate.

So Mr. Bradley worked with the state park to arrange an annual blacksmiths convention on the Island. Twenty-three years later, the convention has grown and is still bringing attention to a labor intensive craft that constructs so many things that people take for granted. The blacksmiths who gathered at the convention have even formulated a type of mock name for themselves, the Greater Straits Area Unaffiliated Non-Dues Paying Blacksmith's Association.

Mr. Cline said that invitations to the convention are more word of mouth than anything.

"Everybody who has been here has been acquainted with one or more of the guys who are already involved," he said. "Space is limited. You couldn't get 50 guys in here."

The blacksmiths have developed friendship and camaraderie over their years working together. Together, they work as an assembly line of sorts; one group heats the iron, another bends it, while another group reshapes it. Inside the shop, other blacksmiths worked to shape and create door handles and other items for Ste. Anne's Church. As they work, they share their skills.

"It's one of the great things about blacksmiths," Mr. Cline said. "In all of my time here and elsewhere, I've not found any who won't tell you stuff. They're very open, very helpful."

Mr. Cline said that helpfulness is contrary to tradition of blacksmiths, however. In the early days of the craft, blacksmiths wouldn't share their knowledge with others to protect their competitive edge.

"It's one of the more challenging crafts to make a go at it in the financial sense because it's probably the most labor intensive," he said. "The time spent in producing per dollar of a project is much more challenging."

One blacksmith who has succeeded as a full-time smith is Kalkaska resident Pat Hayes. Mr. Hayes started blacksmithing in 1969. He started out making horseshoes and has expanded his skill into a fulltime job over the years.

"It's in your blood," he said. "You still want to hit something hot."

Like many of the others at the convention, Mr. Hayes wears earplugs to protect his ears from the constant hammering and other noises that come with the job.

"I do this for a living and I don't want to go deaf," he quipped. "Things just get a little loud over there every once in awhile."

Mr. Hayes has been attending the convention since the early 1990s and likes the traditional and historical sense of working on Mackinac Island.

"Everything has been done traditionally," he said of the convention's yearly projects. "We try to do it in the spirit of the time it was supposed to be done."

Over the years, Mr. Hayes has built everything from decorative flowers to horseshoes and fences.

"If you think about it, this stuff will still be here after we're gone," he said. "The nice thing about working with this medium is … we can make roses, we can make flowers, and we can make the Mackinac Bridge and there isn't anybody else that can do that. We're the guys who can make the pretty little decorative things to the big functional things that you have to have."