Irons in the fire at the library

Master blacksmith Jeff Wester, his son, Hayden, and smith Alex Cretsinger had plenty of irons in the fire last Sunday afternoon as they put on a blacksmithing demonstration at the Sisters Library.

About 70 Sisters residents were there to watch, ask question, inspect the wrought steel pieces both Jeff and Alex created with their smithy skills.

This was the final Friends of the Sisters Library (FOSL) program for 2014. They are put on each winter and spring as part of the Diane Jacobsen Memorial Speaker Series.

Wester spent almost as much time answering questions and explaining the process of blacksmithing as he did pounding on the anvil, creating an ax head that ancient warriors would lust for.

His sidekick Alex was just as busy creating fine blacksmith art in the form of tight decretive coils that ended with a beautiful example of a ram's head and horns. He also spent as much time has Jeff did talking and explaining what he was doing.

While all this was going on, Hayden - Jeff's very capable blacksmith son - was removing shoes from his horse, Gray Horse, in preparation to replacing them with a new set of shoes he created during the demonstration.

Jeff taught Hayden the skills of the blacksmith and farrier at a young age, and those watching him work with Gray Horse - removing the old shoes, trimming his feet, and then making raw steel become horseshoes - were all impressed. Like his dad, Hayden also spent a lot of his time answering questions and explaining the process.

When the steel leaf Alex created from a bar of steel was being passed around (after it was cooled!), it arrived where Aaron Gregg and his daughter were watching from the patio wall of the library. Aaron handed it to his young daughter, Bryer and asked her if she would like to make something like that some day. She resounded, "Oh, I don't think so, Daddy. I'd rather make a sword."

As the team worked, they kept inserting their steel pieces into the gas-fired forge, each person being very careful to not get "too many irons in the fire," which gave ample time for Jeff to tell the story behind the old saying. But then, with a big grin, he reminded the audience sometimes it was necessary be sure you had, "enough irons in the fire, or a smithy was wasting time and not makin' any money."