Blacksmith finds his passion early on

BY Kimberly Allenkallen@svnmail.com800-798-4085, ext. 565

John Deere's resident smithy calls job a 'lifelong adventure' GRAND DETOUR - Rick Trahan is a company man through and through. He's especially proud of the man who founded the company he works for: John Deere. No, he doesn't design new tractors, or even sell them. Trahan does what Deere did - he's a blacksmith in a small forge in Grand Detour. Deere would have spent most of his days making things such as nails, corn dryers, horseshoes, wagon jacks, drill presses, pitchforks and other things needed in a small town in the mid-1800s. Because the tools people need nowadays are mass produced, Trahan contents himself with making decorative items such as trivets, gates, fireplace poker sets, wall hangers and shepherd's hooks, all of which are sold on site in the John Deere Historic Site gift shop. His job has a few drawbacks - the shop's intensely hot shop and there's always a risk of getting burned - but Trahan loves it. "I'm one of the lucky ones whose job is my passion," he said. The Texas native spent 20 years in the Air Force, retiring in 1995. Before settling into a new job, he visited the Deere site. There was a sign on a post: "Blacksmith wanted." Trahan, who had some experience shoeing horses, applied for the job before he left that day. It wasn't easy in the beginning. "As an apprentice, you struggle. You make mistakes. You have accidents. Sometimes those accidents turn out good, and you turn it into a skill." After 3 years in the shop, Trahan took a blacksmithing class taught by students of the late Francis Whittaker, considered one of the best blacksmiths of all time. "If you have to model your style after anyone, you model it after him," Trahan said. That first class, others he has taken over the years and countless hours bent over the forge have helped him develop his skills. Still, there is always more to learn, Trahan said. He considers himself a journeyman. To be a true master, a blacksmith has to put in at least 20 years. "This is a lifelong adventure," he said.

Hammer-In starts today The fourth annual "Hammer-In" blacksmith convention gets under way today at the John Deere Historic Site. The 2-day event will feature blacksmiths and other pioneer-era craftsmen such as coppersmiths, wood turners, woodwrights, wheelwrights, spinners, tatters and glass workers demonstrating their skills and selling their wares. When: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday Where: The John Deere Historic Site, 8393 S. Main St., Grand Detour, on state Route 2. Demonstrations: 1 p.m. today and Sunday by Roy Underhill, of the PBS TV how, "The WoodWright's Shop." Auction: At 2:30 today. Admission: $3; free for 11 and younger. For more information: Go to www.deere.com/en_US/attractions/ on the Web.