Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Herald and news. (Klamath Falls, Or.) 1942-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 22, 1961)
' c I 1 ll'""'""" v irP-r 1 THE SHOP IS EQUIPPED to turn out horseshoes, also, but up to now it has had trouble keeping up with orders for shoeing tools only. Eckerich is shown working on one of the countless varieties of shoes turned out. , HERALD AND NEWS, Klamilti FilU. Or. Sunday, Jnury th INI Pt 1 THE SIGN is as simpie as this firm's guiding principle "Your money s worth. Left to right are Dale Sprout, an employe; George Earnest, founder of the firm who main tains a lifetime interest in it; and Adam Eckerich, former OTI instructor who carries on the tradition that has given the firm a good name in every state. Proud Tradition Of The Old Blacksmith Carried On In Unique Klamath Business By IIKA.V A. KKKNZ It lakes a lot more than 75 years of progress to pet ahead of a man like George Earnest of Klamath Falls. He saw his trade, blacksmith ini;, fall victim to the eoming of the automobile and new metal working methods, but at 65 years of age he founded a business that now serves customers in the 50 states, Canada and Mexico. Although Earnest, one of the vanishing breed of craftsmen and strong individualists, is officially retired, he still takes an active part in the business he sold a year ago to Adam Eckerich, for mer OTI instructor. OE Forge and Tool Works (GE stands for George Earnest turns out a complete line of horseshoe ing tools. Specialising in this line, the firm may be the only one of its type in the nation. Judging from the orders that flood into the local shop at Oak and Broad Street in Klamath Falls, Eckerich and Earnest are convinced they have the whole field to themselves. Will Expand Under Eckerich's direction the firm will expand its tool-making facilities so that it can mcci the avalanche of orders. Earnest drops 'nto the shop at his leisure In pp hnw the hnvs are Hninp vinn In h.ivn a Innu ni thnir nrnri uct, the tools he designed a dec ade ago. Tales of the honest, forthright blacksmith are no myths so fai ns Earnest and his successor are concerned. Whether orders come in written on the back of a tat tered envelupe by a cowpoke in Idaho or on fancy stationery from a rich eastern raping stable, the little firm faithfully turns out iis best in the proud tradition Earn est knows so well. The ingredients for success are a product to fill a need, stead fast devotion to quality and en thusiastic word of mouth adver tising that spread the good word jfrom cowboy to saddle club mem- i ii. 'ni i ta, . . 111., siK3Kjv sS nr -c t-.-u :: a I s. T" i UMP -v. .rv-M A"V -. t - -y ' I I i THE OLD. MASTER, George Earnest, proudly shows off a plated set of the tools that go to eager customers all over the nation. He designed the tools 10 years ago.' iber to race horse handler to rodeo hand. Earnest was so well-known and trusted that prepaid orders from younger shoers might state sim- py, "You know what I want. The aging Scot-Dane proudly as serts he has probably put Klam ath Falls on the map more times than any other single individual. Why the big demand for horsc hoeuy, equipment? Earnest explains it this way: There arc now more horses in tlie country than there were 40 years ago, and they're belter cared for. There are no longer any blacksmith shops where horses can be shod, so the own ers need equipment to do the job. Traveled Widely Earnest started life in Boston, but his trade carried him across the bolder of many states before! he settled in Oregon some 30 years ago. Fresh in his mind are the nigged days in Pacific Northwest logging, mining and construction camps where he plied his trade and also worked at such miscel laneous jobs as waiter, timekeep er, and harncssmaker. On a construction job in British Columbia many years ago, Earn est held all these jobs simul taneously under a boss who was an expert in "deadheading his payroll'' with non-existent help. Earnest s full of stories about "onery" mules and race track flukes . . . Like the time a mule kicked him in the head with his back foot while George was shoeing a front foot . . . and when he missed winning some $1,301) on a single race because he didn't m;,ke it to the betting window in time. He admits he is likely to judge the horse by the shoes he wears. but Earnest said the only sure way to m ike money on races is to pick the horse that crosses the finish line first. Earnest's horseshoe tool busi ness was started about 10 vears ago when he retired from his regular job and contemplated a life of drawing social securit checks. He didn't like the picture. Back in his shop he designed and turned out a set of shoeing tools. Soon he had a few sets ou in the area that proved to be the seeds of a mushrooming busi ness that has Earnest savinn to day, "1 was bom 30 years too soon." Tlie old blaik.,mith is frankly imazed and says he sold out be cause he was too old to branch rut and lake in all the business coming his way. He recalls send ing back checks for hundreds of dollars because be didn't have the time to fill orders. GE Forge and Tool now sells a complete set of tools for $54. You pay for what you get hand forged, tempered and finished tools built to last. But Earnest remembers in the early 1900s when he earned $1 a week as a learner in a blacksmith shop. In those days the smith would shoe a horse for $1.50 and put new hoops on the washing machine (wooden tub) for two-bits. "A new washboard was the Christmas present every woman wanted and got," he recalled. Thinks of Old Days Earnest sighs when he thinks of the bygone days when kids crowded around the blacksmith shop door after school to see the (Continued on Page 3) THE PASSING OF THE VILLAGE SMITH By George Earnest No morj the village smith stands; The smith, that once most mighty man. No more can you hear his anvil ring, Nor see him swing his heavy sledge. No more caij children home from school look in that open door To see him sweat and toil On that flaming red-hot forge. No more is he in demand To fix that wagon as of yore. For the changing ways of time have all but passed him by. Oh, he has no regrets, for he did his very best. He toiled from early morn til night and tried to treat all alike. Oh, he'd worry on some jobs and rejoice when they were done. Like the tine he shod that vicious mule that kicked him out the door. He was a man among men And looked them all in the eye. For as he pnssts by He leaves" no honest debt behind. Though like the noble horse, He passes on from a life of hon est toil For he knows his day is done. With that noisy horseless wonder. Now they mostly lie at( rest, In peaceful sleep . . . Their task on earth well done.
