Winter Edition                                  Newsletter                                              2008

http//:tidewaterblacksmiths.com
In this Issue: Holiday Meeting * Joe Gentile’s Farewell Letter * Former Member Mermaid Good *                                               Heritage Arts Festival * Editor’s Note *                                           

DECEMBER 2007 – MEETING and “5TH ANNUAL BEST IRON IN THE HAT EVER!” 
    Holiday Meeting was terrific. We really owe a big hand to Steve LaPaugh AKA “Warwick Forge” for hosting it this year. We had a really good turn out. Iron in the Hat turned out to be exactly as advertised THE “5th Annual Best Iron in the Hat Ever”. We had a lot of forged items made by our members this year: “Highly Polished Adze” by Vince Parrish, “Knives” by Tim Edney, Rusty Heeley, Joe Gentile & Mike Keeney, “Chisel & Punch” by Larry Ange, “Rose” by Emory Ewell, “Fork” by Nathan Walker, “Dinner Bell” by Tom Herendeen, “Flower” by Vince Nakovics, “Candle Holder” by Travis Covington. I know I missed someone, I apologize. Many of us were holding out during the year as a lot of really good stuff was on the table waiting for a new home. We thank everyone for their most generous contributions making this a truly special Iron in the Hat. John Elliot showed up with his truck and donated a pair of Tongs for IITH. Door prizes went fast and furious with the big prize going to Emory Ewell. Emory told me he was hoping it was belt sander/disc sander combo and now he doesn’t have to purchase one! Merriment was had by all! I hope everyone had a Happy New Year! Once again Thanks Steve and his lovely wife for hosting this event.

Vince Nakovics  

       

                                                                                                                                                                               

 


 

                                                                                                                                                                                       



Past President Joe Gentile:
       Two years has gone by fast since I’ve been president and I would like to thank all the members of the guild for their support. It has been truly been a privilege to represent such a great group of people that share the same passion for blacksmithing as I do. As a guild we have been pretty busy this year performing big demos like Sail VA, HaborFest, Driver Days and Civil War Days. With the success of these big demos and the Endview Plantation project the guild has increased its capital substantially over the past two years. We all knew that we were saving this money in the event we did not have a forge to call our own. Well that day has come and as of June 07 we departed Taylor Farms. I would like to see us focus on the future and run the guild more like a business, at the same time staying flexible. It would be nice to establish a main forge location where we can hold meetings and classes. In the mean time we will still hold monthly meetings at ODU or members forges. I encourage all members to stay active and participate in guild functions. I also want to thank Steve LaPaugh with allowing us to hold our Fifth Best Ever Iron in the Hat meeting at his house, it was a huge success.

 Joe

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

Being that Joe isn’t in many pictures I am providing a rare one with him in it.


       Katie Williams was a member from 2002 to 2004. Some of you might remember her; this is an example of one of her works while she is attending Moorehead State University, Kentucky. Katie took one of Mike Keeney’s Knife making classes and has kept in touch since. Mike Keeney submitted the following article about Katie Williams. Copyright Moorehead News 2007 – Heather Webb – Staff Writer

                                                                                           

                                                                                                                                                                                

                                                                                                                                                                                

HERITAGE ARTS FESTIVAL
By Vince Nakovics


           Heritage Arts Festival takes place at the Chesapeake Recreation Park off of Greenbrier Pkwy. This year it was on Nov 3rd & 4th. We had a very good turn out of TBG members headed up by Larry Ange & Emory Ewell. They have done this event for many years now and always have had a good time. Myself (Vince Nakovics), Joe Gentile, Dr Dan Franks and new comer Ben Daley.

          It was a blustery day Saturday and stayed that way all day. The crowd turned out to be pretty good and they felt like obtaining articles that we had. There were some special orders for a couple of hooks and of course Joe did a great job wowing the onlookers. The horseshoe pile was a big hit with the kids as it seemed it was a magnet that encouraged a ton of questions, you know how kids are. The biggest hit of the horseshoe pile was the horseshoe sneaker, the kids found that really neat. It was a lot of fun all around. There was a crowd right up until the very last minute even though it remained windy and chilly Sunday.

        It appears that this may be the last time this event is a stand alone event. Next year it is expected to be conducted combined with Civil War Days, so we don’t know where it will be located, when it will be or what they will call it. Well it looks like we might have to find a new demo for that time period or maybe some of us can go to Blackstone and help out with the Boy Scout event that Bear Short heads up every year. We had a great time and look forward to next year’s combined event. 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    

                 

    

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

   Editor’s Note: Hi All, well we did have a great year. We had our elections and our new President Tim Edney will be holding his first meeting with the Officers and Board Members Jan 20th. It looks to be another exciting year with lots of interesting twists. In February I will be starting a Monthly, yep that’s right, I said MONTHLY newsletter. I already have a pretty good line up for the first and second issues. The monthly editions will focus on our Guild events, Safety items, Technique articles, and any other stuff you all would like to see in it. I am planning on having a continuing series of interviews with Blacksmiths from near and far. I hope you will enjoy the new monthly editions. The January (Winter), April (Spring), July (Summer) and October (Fall) issue will continue as before being centered on official guild business and events. Remember send me your articles, items of interest, etc.

                                                                                                                                                                             

                                                                                                                                                                             

Joe and Ben - bending metal!   Driver Days 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

ABANA: All TBG members are encouraged to consider joining ABANA. Please talk to any of our guild members who belong on the benefits for joining. There is a survey on line that you are encouraged to take regardless of your ABANA membership status. This survey will help ABANA better meet the needs of its membership and the Blacksmith community at large.

                                                                                                                                                                                

                                                                                                                                                                                

TBG OFFICERS: BOARD OF DIRECTORS
President: Tim Edney (757) 421-0123           Dianne deBeixedon (757) 627-9962
Vice-President Travis Covington (757) 617-9174      Rusty Healy (757) 484-3054
Treasurer: Steve LaPaugh (757) 877-5684                 Bear Short (757) 485-5117
Secretary: Joe Gentile (757) 965-6878                       Emory Ewell (757)482-1448


COMMITTEE CHAIRS:
Demonstration Coordinators: Bob Orcutt (757) 464-9451   Vince Parrish (757) 421-3967
Librarian: Dianne deBeixedon (757) 627-9662   Eric Hinckley (757) 497-6067
Scholarship: Mike Keeney (757) 366-9693
Hospitality: Tom Herendeen (757) 548-8800
Newsletter: Vince Nakovics (757) 464-0997                                                                                                           Website : Travis Covington (757) 617-9174 

Demonstration Schedule:
Francis Land House * TBA * Contact Vince Parrish

                                                                                                                                                                                

                                                                                                                                                                                 

                                            

Endview Hinge and Hasp Project in use at Endview Plantation off Rte 238 and Crawford Rd

NOTE: All articles are property of the Tidewater Blacksmith’s Guild and are available to for use to ABANA and Affiliate Guilds unless otherwise noted as copyrighted.