Alexander Leach, Editor
BEACHBURG- Whitewater Forge’s blacksmith, Mike Whitmore, 24, runs a forge near Beachburg, reviving the rare art of metalworking in the area.
He held an ‘open forge’ on August 29th, Sunday from 11am to 4pm.
Tracey McCallum of WhatchaMcCallum’s and lynda Stephenson-Maracle of Creating Some Happiness sold crafts, and Sara Kosowan of Ain’t She Sweet sold baked goods, as Whitmore walked people through his forge.
Whitmore has been forging for four years, and has begun forging full-time a year ago, with the pandemic.
“IIt gave me a lot of time to experiment with things.” he said. He said he was one of the only blacksmiths of his kind.
“There were a lot of carpenters around, and there was only one blacksmith in Hamilton, Ontario.” he said.
His forge is located at 3405 McLaughlin Road outside of Beachburg.
“Christmas is the busiest time of the year.” He said.
Of his projects, he said he makes custom knives, door handles, and is currently making metal poppies to donate to the Royal Canadian Legion.
He said he gets his steel from Valley Sales in Renfrew.
“For a lot of the knives, I’ll just come out and use my eye, see what looks right.” He said. “For the poppy, you just kind of hammer it into shape.
Tracey McCallum had been making crafts for 30 years, and wanted to promote Whitmore’s work.
Photo By Alexander Leach. Mike Whitmore
