By Rebekah Hall
U of A System Division of Agriculture
RISON, Ark. — The metallic clang of hammers rang out at the Pioneer Village in Rison, where members of the Cleveland County 4-H Blacksmithing Club forged their own tent stakes from low-carbon steel.
The club’s monthly meeting took place April 19 during the Pioneer Craft Festival. The Pioneer Village, a collection of historical homes and structures dating back to the 1800s, includes a blacksmith’s shop built by local volunteers. Ed Montgomery, leader of the Cleveland County 4-H Blacksmithing Club, said the location has been perfect for their group.
LESSONS IN FORGING — At a meeting of the Cleveland County 4-H Blacksmithing Club, held at the Pioneer Village in Rison, club member Millie Montgomery explains how club volunteer Jeff Frey and his son Brayden Frey are heating a piece of low-carbon steel to be hammered into a tent stake. (Division of Agriculture photo.)
“This was specifically built to be a blacksmith’s shop,” Montgomery said. “Two retirees named Bill Gray and Luther Drye built this from used sheet metal and lumber from Luther’s sawmill. They donated their time in addition to the building materials. It’s been a great thing for the kids and the Pioneer Village.”
Montgomery said his passion for blacksmithing first began as a kid, when he was a member of the Scott County 4-H Buckskinners.
“Our club wasn’t all about blacksmithing, but as part of it, we had a forge,” Montgomery said. “None of us knew what we were doing with it, but we just got out there and learned what we could. It really took for me. I don’t do it for a living, but I just love to do it. Since then, I’ve collected as many tools as I can and just continually learned about it.”
The Cleveland County Blacksmithing Club began meeting in the fall of 2023, and its members include Montgomery’s three children.
“I enjoy showing this to them,” Montgomery said. “It’s passing on something that I feel is an important skill.”
At their April meeting, 4-H members shaped small pieces of low-carbon steel into tent stakes by tapering and sharpening one end to be hammered into the ground, then using the tip of an anvil to curl and press the top of the stake into a tight hook.
Members also operated hand-cranked blowers to keep a stream of oxygen flowing into three separate forges, which were heated using blacksmithing coke. Blacksmithing coke is coal that has been heated to burn off moisture and other substances, resulting in a fuel that burns hotter and produces less smoke. To get the coke burning, members first kindled a small wood and coal fire.
Montgomery said club members have made hand-forged nails, wall hooks and dinner bells.
As part of their blacksmith training, club members have also been taught hammer signals, which are helpful for team striking, when two people take turns hitting the same piece of metal.
“That’s a traditional way of communicating in a blacksmith’s shop,” Montgomery said. “At times, it can be too loud in a blacksmith’s shop to hear verbal instructions clearly. Taps on the anvil with a hammer can tell the ‘striker’ when to start and stop.
“And they’re learning teamwork – there’s no time for a kid to argue in this,” he said. “Participants learn that when the metal comes out of the fire, work must start on it immediately.”
David West, Cleveland County extension agriculture agent for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, said the 4-H Blacksmithing Club is “helping get kids active, build self-confidence, teach them a useful and practical skill and help them build relationships.
“It has so many positive layers to it,” West said. “Learning safety with tools and how to follow instructions, and expressing your artistic ability and imagination through heating, hammering and forging. I heard one student say it can even be therapeutic to hit some steel with a hammer.”
The club was recently awarded an Innovative Grant from the Arkansas 4-H Alumni Association and Arkansas 4-H Foundation. The grant recognizes 4-H programs that benefit more than just one club.
“Through Ed’s leadership and direction, along with many volunteers who have stepped up, this club is showcasing 4-H and 4-H’ers to their entire community,” West said.
Hands-on learning
Montgomery’s daughter Millie, 15, has participated in the club since it started.
“It’s a dying art, blacksmithing is,” Millie said. “Nobody really knows how to do it. I really enjoy it, and I like to help other people do it because it’s fun.”
Montgomery’s son John, 16, said he enjoys blacksmithing as a creative outlet.
“I was inspired, like many others, by a show called ‘Forged in Fire’,” John said. “I would say that blacksmithing is a good way to get some experience working with your hands. You have fun, you can work, and you can make money.”
Desiree Frey, whose son Brayden, 13, is a club member, said the experience has helped her son practice his creativity and improve his social skills.
“I never knew anything about blacksmithing until we got into 4-H, then when they started this, I thought, ‘Oh Brayden, that would be really cool to get into,’” Frey said. “He’s made a lot of things. He’s made a couple of dinner bells, plant holder hooks, a spoon and nails.”
Jeff Frey, Brayden’s father, is a club volunteer. He said it’s important for young people to learn about hands-on trades and explore different career paths.
“College is great, but it’s not for everybody,” Frey said. “Blacksmithing might not be something you do day in and day out, but to be able to see you can do something like this, it’s good. I work in a paint and auto body shop, and you do all that work by hand. There’s a pride in that work, and that’s what I see in a lot of the kids here. Whenever they see the final product, they look at it, and they’re like, ‘I made that.’”
Katie Jo Strother, 14, who recently joined the club, said she enjoys coming to meetings to see her friends and take advantage of the unique opportunity to learn.
“You don’t see this kind of stuff anywhere around,” Strother said. “To be in my hometown and doing something that we all love, it’s just fun.”
Montgomery said his goal for the club is for members to continue growing in their confidence and abilities.
“We’ve really seen their skills increase, from barely being able to hit the metal to really hitting accurately,” he said. “I want to see them progress in their skills and make more and more complex things. My goal is for them to be able to work with their hands and work with their intellect, that way they diversify their abilities as they enter adulthood.”
To learn more about the Cleveland County 4-H Blacksmithing Club, contact Ed Montgomery at edmontgomery100@gmail.com. For more information about Arkansas 4-H, visit 4h.uada.edu.
To learn about extension programs in Arkansas, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service agent or visit www.uaex.uada.edu. Follow us on X and Instagram at @AR_Extension. To learn more about Division of Agriculture research, visit the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station website: https://aaes.uada.edu. Follow on X at @ArkAgResearch. To learn more about the Division of Agriculture, visit https://uada.edu/. Follow us on X at @AgInArk.