Through The Lens: Old Town Blacksmith
We live in a world where it is easy to go to the story and buy whatever modern convenience has to offer, but there are some people that still like to do thing the old fashioned way. That has led to many stories for me and took me to the Knapp Heritage Park in downtown Arlington to meet up with a blacksmith during the Old Town Christmas Celebration.
Whenever you build a fire on a cold December night, it has a way of attracting lots of people. James Ryan opened up the blacksmith shop and got the coals red hot to demonstrated the ancient craft of blacksmithing to all the visitors.
It always fascinates me to see someone create something. All the kids stood amazed watching the red hot piece of metal be beat into a horseshoe or a leaf. His tiny swords were also a big hit with the kids. Ryan says his pleasure is showing the craft to children who may have never known how things are made and I'm sure he smiled when he heard one of the children say they wanted to be a blacksmith.
I have an appreciation for crafts done the old fashioned way. Sometimes, even with all of our modern conveniences, there is no better way to do things than the way they were done years ago.
