For the eighth year in a row, local metal workers gathered in the Pine Grove community to share ideas, show off their work and have a good time at Saturday’s Fire in the Swamp.
Pearl River County resident and local blacksmith Larry House said this was the eighth year he’s held the event at his home. In past years the event has averaged an attendance rate of about 200 people, all interested in the arts of foundry, pottery and blacksmithing. This year’s gathering was a bit smaller.
In preparation for the event’s Cajun cook-off, some of the attendees made unique items to give to the cooks as prizes. House said they don’t ask for an entry fee for the cook-off since the participants provide food for the attendees.
This year House provided a handmade pot rack as a prize. Other metal workers provided handmade ladles. House valued the pot rack at about $1,000 and the ladles at $125. It took House about two weeks to craft the pot rack.
Money raised from each year’s event is donated to some sort of charity. In previous years they donated the proceeds to the Wounded Warrior project or the United Services Organization. This year he was raising money for a family member being treated for cancer.
House said he became involved in the art of blacksmithing in 1996 when he began making knives. As he was taking classes in knife making, he realized that the blades have a limited scope of creativity, so he branched out into every aspect of blacksmithing so he could learn to make artistic carved pieces.
The event is a way for members of the Gulf Coast Blacksmith Association to meet and share ideas and show of the fruits of their labor. Several people set up booths to display the items they made, including jewelry, knives, and other items.
At the end of the event that night, they fired up the iron cupola furnace, heated iron to 3,000 degrees before pouring the liquid substance into various molds the metal workers used to create decorations, tools or other items.