The studio is as loud as it is hot. All those involved joined together yelling, “HOT METAL!”, warning others around them of the bright red steel coming out of the furnace. Sparks fly as scalding pieces of metal are struck by hammers. People can be heard talking with each other through the different ideas and plans for projects.
Southern has had a blacksmithing club on campus for quite some time.
The clubs started about 15 years ago when an outdoor education professor took his students to the house of Dusty Miller’s, maintenance/housekeeping supervisor for Talge, to show them a new skill: blacksmithing. Miller, alongside the outdoor education teacher, taught 12 to 15 students how to make flint strikers and knives.
For a year, blacksmithing was taught as a class on Southern’s campus. The second year, the class was cancelled due to not having the required amount of students and lack of interest. Even though it’s no longer a class, the club lives on.
The students’ interest inspired Miller to become a sponsor for a blacksmithing club on campus. It has been up and running on campus as an official club for almost nine years. Today, interested students can find the club meeting right behind Campus Safety every Thursday night from 6 p.m. until 10 p.m. Students first learn basic blacksmithing skills, then move onto intermediate and advanced skills.
Blacksmithing President Samir Khalil said, “To me, the club is a family that works together to create interesting projects that we can all be proud of. We share our skills and knowledge to help teach and mentor others and are always willing to go the extra mile to help each other out.”
Image credit: Samir Kahil