For the first few years of my career, there weren’t nearly the variety of choices we have today when it came to manufactured shoes. There was Diamond, of course, Breckenridge, Izumi, maybe Nordic Forge and a few others, but they all offered basically the same choices of types and designs. When a new company came on the market offering Made In America shoes and what I thought was a superior rim shoe design, I was anxious to give them a try.
The company was St. Croix Forge, and I didn’t even know how to pronounce it at first. Seeing their ad in either the AFJ or the Anvil magazine, I called and ordered a couple of boxes. I anxiously awaited their arrival, and when they showed up, I eagerly opened the first box and promptly drew back a bloodied finger from the contents. Upon inspection, I saw that most of the shoes therein had a sharp shard of steel sticking out from somewhere on the perimeter. I was duly disappointed and gave the company a call to see what the deal was. The person who answered was polite and gracious, and in the course of the conversation, we figured out that I had inadvertently been sent a box of the rejects from a day's production. I was told to send them back, on their dime, and was sent a box of the real thing, which I was extremely pleased with. I chuckled to think that, of course, I was the one to get that box of rejects.
“His gesture exemplifies the generosity that is so prevalent in our business…”
During the years of 1987, '88 and '89, I was honored to serve as chairman of the Farriers Association of Washington State (AFA Chapter No.2). This was back when every chairperson or president of a member state association had a seat on the AFA Board of Directors, and one of the mid-year meetings was held in Minnesota. I still have a cup from the Blacksmith Lounge in Hugo, Minn., where we tipped back a few after the meetings were over for the day.
The manufacturing facility of St. Croix was close by, and we were invited to a tour of the place. To say I was impressed would be an understatement. I was expecting to see a big forge heating up the material from which the shoes were produced. Instead, the round stock came off a giant reel and entered an induction furnace, which was a lot smaller than I would have thought necessary for the task. From there, it entered a hydraulic press and was then finished for shipment.
That furnace required so much electricity that the company had an agreement with the local power-producing company that they would shut down if the demand of the other power consumers required it.
I have to say something about Clint Carlson, who represented St. Croix, and his support of farrier business. I don’t know how many Farriers Association of Washington State (FAWS) conventions he made the effort to show up for, but there were many. At one such event, we had a silent auction going on, and one of the items was an exquisite forged rose made by Rick Sausville that I swore could be stuck in water and would grow. I was waiting to put down my bid for that item, which was garnering a lot of bids, and when the person in front of me bent over to enter their bid I said, “Put down as much as you want because we know Clint is going to wind up with it, and that means that much more in the coffers for FAWS.”
From behind me, I heard a quiet voice say something like “I don’t see your name on the list.” It was, of course, Clint who indeed ended up paying a pretty penny by out-bidding everyone else for the prized item. Everyone was waiting to see what the winning bid was for that rose, and when his name was announced, Clint didn’t pause a moment before donating the rose back to Rick to give to his wife, who was experiencing serious health problems. He certainly didn’t have to do that, but his gesture exemplifies the generosity that is so prevalent in our business. Those in the manufacturing end, as well as the practitioners of the trade, always seem willing to go the extra mile to lend a hand when they have the opportunity. Just one more reason I have been so proud to be a part of this venerable trade.
Look out for more installments of "The Way it Was" by David Hazlett, stories that explore how farriery has changed — and stayed the same — over the years. You can read previous installments here.
