6.11.2007

Joshua da Blacksmith

While showing Mr. Ed and Jean around Vermillionville, a Cajun heritage village, we happened to meet a very nice young man; "Joshua da Blacksmith". For me, getting the chance to visit with this young smithy was the highlight of our trip. He was patient, polite and very knowlegeable in his trade. It's hard on a young craftsman like Josh to find time and a place to hone his craft, so working at Vermillionville is a wonderful opportunity for him to sharpen his skills and still manage to pay the rent. It realy made me feel good to see this young man working in his chosen craft and preserving a piece of our history for us to enjoy. You only had to look around his furnace to see that the young smithy is quite gifted and versatile. This particular day he was working on some scroll work and demonstrated the techniques involved, and pointed out to us, some of the ways to tell the real hand work from the machined or molded pieces ya find today.


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