The Goderich Signal-Star, 1973-08-09, Page 13LA
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tewart Taylor still runs
mith shoe in Nile, a
hamlet north of
s been working at this
extinct trade for 30
When he entered he
had,biacksmithing .dd
out. Now he is the only
in.the area.
all he was informed by
company. in Kitchener
bad stopped producing
ith,coal. It was the last
y to do so.
r's supply of
ith Boal is slowly work
and he
it. Ordinar
ide enough heat for his
nesshas declined "Most of
the
de,"he say
have welders now
and are able to do their own
work.
"However," he says, ''I can
remember when I was really
busy. In. World War 11 the -fac-
tories were turned over to war
production, and the blacksmith
became the farmer's resort to
repair and replace machinery.
"At one time I used to shoe
horses. I charged 25 cents to
make a shoe, and 50 cents to
set it on. 1 quit that after my
first year. It was just too much
of a bother. Boy were those
horses ever. frisky.
"I used to have people come
from over 40 miles away to get
a job done. When farmers are
seeding or harvesting they can't
afford to waste any time. bused
to work long hard hours, and
that's why they came to me,
because they knew I .would get
the job done.”
Taylor now has only a few
jobs a weekllowever, the
people come farther than
before -now, ;,., • ,,,,,
him work.
Many come from urban cen-
tres with' their children.
One man came all the way
from St. Paul, Minn. to see him
work. He was so fascinated that
he spent an entire week wat-
ching.
"I really can't see why people
come to see me. What is there
to see?" he asks, while he scans
his tiny shop.
The shop is dark, and is
dominated by his forge up
against the front wall. Beside it
is his anvil.
On a table that runs along
the left wall, his tools and
equipment are scattered about.
On the right wall he has a sign
which reads, "If it's difficult,
I'll fix it immediately. If it's
most of the blacksmith's work is done with an electric arc -welder. A largo part of
art Taylor's work these days Is repair to farm machinery. (Photo by Signal -Star)
sh avid he his kuM«' on h1s days off, Stewart is siert among many of his hunting trbphles,
IJttlrP10:41(1)**) d over the years. Woodcarving Is also a spars 'time activity for him.
1
impossible', it will take a little
longer."
The exterior is covered with
faded red stucco, and two
moose antlers hang on the right
wall. Scrap iron is- cluttered. on
the ground in front of the shop.
Por a hobby, he does wood
carvings, and makes furniture.
His carvings of animals and
birds are very life -like.
His pride and. joy is a six foot
high totem pole which he car-
ved last winter during his spare
time, in two months. •
Many tell him that the totem
pole looks genuine.
"I saw a few pictures of
totem poles in books," he said,
"and I just decided to start car-
ving one on the spur of the
moment.
"I don't know what it is, but
I just love to work with my
hands. When I am not working
in the blacksmith shop, I just
love to carve. •
"Some people say if I worked
fast, and sped up my produc-
tion, I could make a lot of
money from my carvings. They
just don't seem to realize that I
love doing this. Money is of no
consequence. I like to take my
time when I carve, or do
blacksmithing, When I go slow
I arm able to devote more love
to rpy _work. you know, that's
the trouble with,. the world
today, people move 'too fast,
and put no love into 'what
they're doing
-"You know, once when I was
doing a carvi:
pecker, I thought its beak en-
.ded in a sharp point. Mit that's
not so. I found out by observing
a .woodpecker 'close-up that his
beak slopes off near the end
like a chisel. I also found out
that when a woodpecker lands
i t Scally, he uses his tail .to.
support him. If you felt his tail
feathers they would be very
prickly. He uses these to dig
into the bark of a tree when
he's pecking for food. This
helps to balance him.
"By taking time to under-
stand nature, I've learned how
to appreciate it. That means
more to me than all the money
in the' world.
deer and fish. He did all the
stuffing and mounting himself.
He 'is one of the most avid,
and most respected hunters in
the area
His wife, Rita, , said that
when she identifies herself as
Mrs. Stewart Taylor, people
stare in amazement and say,
"Oh, the great white,• hunter.
"When I hunt, I always try to
instantly kill the animal," he
says. "I never take a wild shot
which could maim an animal. I
always try to get the animal in
his shoulder. I never lung shoot
him;. he could run for miles
that way. People criticize , me
for losing meat this way, but I
am not that greedy. I love to
take my time when I hunt, and
enjoy everything nature has 'to
offer.
"Hunting is no good in
drives. The animal has no
chance. I like it to be only one
man against the animal to have
it fair. I totally disapprove of
hunting on snowmobiles or
using lights at night. After I
hunt in a certain area, I don't
go back there until the next
year. This way I try ,to make
sure there are no animals
overkilled in one area. I only
kill to provide meat.
"Once I made myself a
buckskin jacket from a deer I
shot. A lady saw the jacket, and
wanted me to make her one.
Well, 1 am a Taylor by name,
not a tailor by trade, I told her.
She said she didn't care, just as
long as I made her a jacket. I
went ahead and made it for
her, and she said it was the
heat coat she, ever had.
His house is fillc.d - with
curios.
He has two tomahawks, he
made, -that can he smoked as a
peace pipe.
On ..a wall he has a 'pair of
eight-foot-lon"g Texan
Longhorns.
On top of the fireplace he has
a rattlesnake head with its
mouth open showing its fangs.
On a shelf in the corner he '
has a miniature steam engine
he made that actually runs.
"A year or two back I bought
a real steam engine. It was
"I forget what the name or used to thresh at the turn of the
the thing Was,". he says, "some —century. It was in extremely
government organization in Ot- poor condition. It was so, bad
tawa wanted me to enter my that it was laying in a farmer's
carvings in a contest. I guess field in three different parts. To
make matters worse, a lot, of
the parts were missing. I
worked" on it Mall winter, and
made the parts that were
missing. By spring time I had. it
in vintage condition.
"sold the steam engine after
a while. So to keep myself busy,
I went ahead and made myself
a miniature one."
Taylor has an 77:sive gun .
collection. At onee he had
the largest gun coon in the
area. -
Frye obericij
SIGNAL
somebody saw niy work and
told them.
"I refused --oto enter. I don't
want my work to be regarded
as greater or lesser , than the
work of somebody, else. I don't
believe we should judge each
other's work. We should realize
that everybody's work is good.
They put Just as much lo.ve,as.
me into it. .
"I want people to know that
my carvings are, just copies of
the real thing. The real thing
was made by Him," he says as
he points his finger up to the
sky. "He guides me 'in .all I . do;
it was He who gifted me.
"You know, the television
people want me to go on one of
their programs. I keep saying
no, but they jug keep twisting
my arm. I guess they don't
know that a' blacksmith has. a
strong arm," he says with a
laugh.
"I make all my own stain for
my furniture. It was getting so
that I couldn't buy the right
shade I wanted. That stuff they
make today is\useless. So I
decided to make my own stuff.
XI saw a walnut tree stump
rotting one day in the bush.
When I examined . the wood, I
noticed that it was a' beautiful
reddish brown shade -the shade ,
a walnut stain should be. So I
took some of the' wood home
and, broke it up into tiny pieces.
I put the pieces in "a jar of
liquid ammonia. After waiting
a month or two I had the per-
fect stain.
'.'Many people ask me where
I buy my stain,", he says
proudly.
"You know," he says, "I
- ,thinkwpeopleeare., getting _.too _far.._._
away ,from nature these days.
Every spring, for the past few
years, I had some skin disease
with some gigantic name. I
would get these painful sores
all over my legs. I think it was
called °dermatitis. Well
anyway, I went to a doctor in
London, and he prescribed
some salve for me. It cost $20 a
jar, - and 'I was to have it
repeated 10 times. I used ,it for
two' months and had no suc-
cess. So I put some Epsom salts -
on the &ores, .and wrapped my
legs up with a bandage. Before
,lpng the sores were gone.
"Now I just use my good old
Epsom salts each spring, and i
have no trouble" he says.
At the rear of his . house,
Taylor has a den. •
The walls of the den are
filled with trophies of moose,
"I sold a lot of my pins. I
just kept the ones I treasure. I
guess some • of those people
swindled me. Some of those
guns were worth a bit of money
you know. The world is filled -
with so many dishonest people.
"It would be wonderful' if we
could all abide by the Bible. If
somebody could create a better
system I would follow, but they
will never create a system bet-
ter than the Bible. You know, -
many atheists know all about
evolution, but they are blind to
the Bible. If people would only
take'thl time to see what Christ
has to offer, thi's would become
a better world.
"You know, I am sort ''of
happy that business has died
down at my shop. It gives me
more time to read the Bible
and work on my hobbies.''
Many of the area farmers go
to him for advice. One farmer -
says, "We know that we can
trust him."
Another farmer, who has
been Taylor's steady customer
for 30 years says, "There are
guys who can hunt as good as
he can, but they can't carve.
There are taxidermists as good
_.as-hirn,�but;4thay can:tmake a
steam engine. There are moun-
ters as good as him, but they
can't make furniture; and
nobody, but nobody, is as good
a blacksmith as him."
While bending a hot piece of
iron on`his°anvil, Taylor stops
and wipes the sweat from his
brow, and says, "[just can't see
why people are so interested in
blackamithing."
IBM may have the computer,
and Detroit may have . the
assen.bly line, but the Nile area
farmers don't care -they have
Stewart Taylor.
The strong arm of the blacksmith is seen atwork as he hammers an iron bar into another
shape. It was heated in the forge in the background which was installad 10 years ago.
(Signal -Star photo)
With shorter work hours and
ever increasing amounts of
leisure time on hand, it is
becoming increasingly, difficult
to find ways; and' means of
recreation to fill these vacant
moments.
To R H 1Tlirkl Cornish of
122 Brock Street, Goderich,
this has never been a problem
since he has been deeply in-
volved in his hobby of woodcar-
ving and model -building for_the _
past 20 years.
Two of his first models he
can remember copied pioneer
stores 'Which stood near his
original ' Thome just east . of
Exeter.
Dick claims that he first got
interested .inwoodcaryng when
he returned ,-from/ he First
Dick Cornish puts the finishing touches on the model of the old Town Clock still standing
and in use in Halifax, Nova Scotia. (Staff Photo) -
Some of the over 200 Items that Dick has made ars dispia)sd•hare.-They are (book row Tett
to right) a carved 'wooden Tamp made out of walnut, a Roman Catholic sitar which stood in
Dublin, a Dutch windmill and the Town Clock In Haillax; (front row)'s log cabin, Tower bank
in old London, England, a tiny chair made out of a pop can, and a "Lazy Susan". (Staff
Photo) Zit .