Jimmy The Blacksmith –
By Michael Paddock, Old World Wisconsin Facilitator
He walked into the 1880s Blacksmith shop with purpose and a smiling mother in tow.
“How old are you, young fella?,” I asked as I stoked my coal forge to make the steel red hot.
“My name is Jimmy, and I am eight and a half years old,” he proudly relied.
As he helped operate the crank blower to stoke the fire, I explained that in the 1880s he would have needed to wait two years to be a blacksmith apprentice. He sat down and quickly got out his notepad to take notes.
We went through the progression of a blacksmith in the 1880s through the life story of Henry Grotelueschen who had built the shop in Waubeka, Wisconsin. Henry had come to Wisconsin from Germany as a young lad of 15 years old and spent 7 years as an apprentice. Once he received his “diploma” from his teacher, he became a Journeyman where he traveled to other blacksmith shops to earn a wage of $3-5/day – nearly three times the wage of a laborer.
“Not Wall Street money, but a good family supporting wage just like the trades today,” I said.
“Henry then met the love of his life, Wilhemina and they built this shop to make all the tools in their farming community.” Another guest suggested, “Just like the modern-day hardware store?” Jimmy respectfully answered the question by saying, “No. More like Milwaukee Tool. Blacksmiths make the tools to keep the community working.”
After a while, Jimmy’s Mom suggested that they move onto the other sites at Old World Wisconsin. Jimmy protested, “Mom – you know this is my favorite place. Can I spend the whole day here?” She convinced him to leave with the promise of ice cream at the creamery and a willingness to return at the end of the day.
When they returned, Jimmy’s Mom asked him to share his neatly printed notes with me.
- Wait two years to start apprenticeship
- Learn from a teacher for seven years
- Work as a Journeyman to help in other blacksmith shops and save money
- Get married
- Build our own blacksmith shop and raise a family
“I like your plan,” I said. “Maybe you can be a Teen Apprentice at Old World Wisconsin when you turn 14 and then an apprentice at Milwaukee Tool after high school. They have several opportunities to learn the trade.”
“Thanks Mister! I sure wish I was older than eight and a half.”
As he and his Mom left, I knew that the future of the tool making trade was in good hands.
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