By L. H. (Bud) Pattison
October 1, marked the closing of 50 years of continuous service
to the farmer and the horsemen of Warsaw and the surrounding community
by Ray McCarthur, a village blacksmith who is the last in this
community to play the anvil chorus. McArthur was born Aug. 22,
1889 in Benton Harbor, Michigan. At the age of eleven he moved
to Warsaw with his father, John McArthur, better known to us as
"Mac," his mother Alice Nye McArthur and his sisters
Lenore and Elaine.
At the age of 16 Ray began his career of 50 years as a blacksmith
and horseshoer with his uncle Frank Nye, the oldest blacksmith
and horseshoer in the county at the age of 82. Ray started to
work in a little frame building Frank Nye purchased from Gib Furlong,
monument dealer and stone cutter, which was located at the southwest
corner of Lake and Market streets. Ray started his trade like
all journeymen, first removing the nuts and bolts from steel tired
wagon and buggy wheels. In the old days everything had steel tires,
a rubber tire wasn't even heard of. In dry seasons the fellow
or wooden rim would dry out and the steel tire would become loose
and rattle. The steel tires had to be placed in a fire, heated
to a certain temperature and then put into cold water.
They had a large wooden tub filled with water, and inside the
tub was a steel slated rack with a lever. The wheels were layered
on this rack and the lever pulled to submerge the tires in the
water. The temperature had to be just right and they had to be
submerged several times in order not to get them too cold too
quick. If they were cooled too fast they would contract too much,
making them too small. This was a particular operation. After
they were cool, they would be bolted fast. This job was called
resetting tires.
Sharpen Points
The next step for the journeyman was to sharpen plow points. Then
he would cork up shoes and get them ready for the fitter. Corking
shoes meant to weld a piece of steel on the toe of the shoe and
bend both ends around the anvil to make what they called a heel.
The next step was trimming the horse's feet. The hoofs were similar
to finger and toe nails, only much thicker and harder. Horses'
hoofs grew in the same manner and every time that new shoes were
put on, the feet would have to be trimmed. This was done with
a paring knife and then they had to be rasped. A rasp was a coarse
file. This smoothed up the feet.
Now the foot was ready for Uncle Frank to fit the shoe, which
he heated in a forge. Good eye sight was required as the temper
of the shoe was like all other steel, determined by the color
of the heat. The hot shoe was shaped and sized to fit the horses
hoof, then it was dipped in a tub of cold water several times
until brought to the right temper. Now after Frank fitted the
shoe then he would put from two, three or four holes in the side
of the shoe. In some cases they would put five but that would
be extra large shoes. Then he would use a special nail called
a horse shoe nail, which was flat and came to a point, with an
oblong head. Now the shoe was ready to nail on the hoof. After
Uncle Frank would nail the shoe on, Ray was allowed to cut the
nails off as they come through the hoof, using a special pair
of nippers. Then he would clinch the nails with a hammer and smooth
them off with a rasp. Then they painted the hoofs with an oil
preparation to keep them from cracking. There were two trades
in the horse shoeing business. Before you became a fitter you
had to be a qualified floorman. A good floorman could keep two
fitters busy.
Face Horse From Rear
In order to shoe a horse's front feet you faced the rear of the
horse, picked up his front hoof and held it between your knees.
For the rear hoofs you stretched the hind leg up over your knee.
In other words you practically got under the horse.
Sometimes a horse would not stand so the journeyman had to take
a broomstick a foot and a half in length with a hole drilled in
the end and a leather strap about a foot long through the hole.
This was called a twitch. You looped the leather over the horses
upper lip then twisted it so tight that it took his mind off the
horseshoer. Therefore he stood perfectly gentle. This was only
applied to what we called in the old days outlaws and broncos
that were brought in fresh from the west. I have seen native horses
stand so perfectly gentle that one man would hold up the left
front foot and other man hold up the right hind foot and put the
shoes on them at the same time.
In Ray's 50 years he has shod from 250 pound Shetland ponies to
Walter Drudge's of Claypool, 4,800 pound world champion pulling
team. Ray worked for his Uncle Frank from 1905 to 1920, starting
at six dollars a week. After 1920 he went into business for himself
in a building on Indiana street on the ground of the present Center
Ward school grounds. This building was torn down for the school.
He then moved into a building on the wet side of Indiana street.
In 1924 he built his present shop located at the rear of his home,
117 East Fort Wayne street where he is still operating the business.
Ray is not only a horseshoer but he also learned the blacksmith
trade. Ray's best year of horseshoeing was in 1921 when he shod
1,478 horses. This year up to Oct. 1 he has shod only 99. So you
see the horseshoeing business will be like the harness business
and other trades. It will soon be a thing of the past.
4 Shops Here
At one time there were four horseing shops in Warsaw. There was
hardly a time for 50 years that you couldn't hear an anvil ringing
within a block of the court house. Harry Oram and Son blacksmith
shop stood where the Cadillac garage is, Conrad and Son was located
where the Warsaw Radio Shop is, Frank Nye, where the license bureau
is and John Trish at the northwest corner of Center and Washington
streets.
Mat Kirk came to Warsaw to work for Conrad and Son in 1900. They
then advertised scientific horseshoeing, which gave the whole
country-side something to talk about as scientific horseshoeing
had never been heard of. Ray has seen the career of these three
shops ended as well as the horseshoers and blacksmiths, namely:
Johnny Gartee, Jimmy Johnson, Bob Johnson, Jimmy Beroth, Si Schutt,
George Dome, Reuben Rough, Billy Bullers, Henry Baughman, Al Bumbaugh,
George Oram, Bill Cook, John Trish, Earl Ly, "Plunk"
Ed Kleckner, Fred Trish, Howard Fifer, Percy Justus, Matt Kirk
and Frank Nye. Ray and Frank Nye are the only two survivors of
this list.
Now Ray was a husky kid at 16, 180 pounds, six foot tall. How
does this writer know that he was tough and strong? He was my
wrestling partner. I only weighed 140 at 17 but only once he threw
me and only once I threw him. We often wrestled for two hours
and never a fall. He wrestled me just like he did the horses.
That is what made him a good horseshoer. Our tie wrestle is yet
to be finished. Ray says he will take me on when he retires at
about 70.
Warsaw Times-Union Saturday, October 29, 1955
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