Bill Wolanski - Smoky Lake Smithy
With anvil, hammer, forge, a lathe, a drill press, trip hammer, grindstone and shears, Bill Wolanski, of Smoky Lake could make almost anything and over the years he has.
In the early days there were horses to
shoe. "Didn't like shoeing," said Bill. "My wife always
thought I'd be killed one day by one." He tightened rims on wagon
wheels too. "First you'd measure the wheels," he said,
"second, with a special clamp, compress the rims to fit." Then
in a big steel forge he'd pile kindling and pour on gas to heat the wagon
rim till it expanded. With tongs he would put the steel rim on the wood
wheel, then drop both in water to cool, shrink, and fit.
Everyone used wagons in those days.
The farmers who came to town would park their horses and wagon in the lot that is now the curling rink. The kids would buy a pop for 5 cents and a piece of salami or sausage with mustard and sit in the wagon and eat lunch while the parent went marketing.
Bill was 16 when he came over from Romania. His uncle, George K. Wolanski started the shop in 1920. Then Harry Kohaniuk and Don Shoreyko were partners in it, until Bill Wolanski, bought them out, and now his son Don is a partner. The shop has been in continual operation for 58 years - the oldest business in Smoky Lake.
It's hard to find a blacksmith in the 70's. Back in the early 20's when he started it was different. The town faced highway 855 in those days and the shop was a couple of blocks off what was the "main street". Then the railway came and turned things around, the business moved to a new main street, by the station, and a new first avenue. But Wolanski's stayed where it was. The world changed and swirled around the shop but a blacksmith doesn't change.
The wood floor is thick, hard and rough. The walls, soot black, a hole cut in the roof lets a beam of sun penetrate the darkness.
Anvil, hammer, forge. The forge is wood and steel, handmade with a smooth hood made from a steel drum. A no. 2 Electric Canadian Blower from Kitchener keeps the coals hot. The coal is "Genuine Old Horseshoe Smithing Coal" from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S.A.. Bags of it are brought in and stored in the leantoo shed beside the shop. Scattered throughout the yard are bits and pieces of the past. Three horse neck yokes, part of a boiler, a wooden axle, a "single tree" hitch, part of a rifle, grader blades, 20 foot lengths of flat iron, springs from old cars, tractor wheels, a John Deere, one cylinder gas engine.
Hanging on each wall is a wealth of parts, bits and pieces of machines to use and reuse.
At the back of the shop is a system of wooden pullies and belts. One motor on the wall runs the grinder, in one corner, the trip hammer in another, the drill in another. Turn one on and they all run, whirling and clattering together.
People come from 60 miles away with work
for him to do. The art of smithing is almost lost. No one' s going in to
it. Welding shops are now "in". Smithing is more heating,
bending, tinkering, and more variety than just welding. You had to be a
jack of all trades. You had to visualize the finished product and build
it.
It's seasonal work. The farmer is the main stay. The smithy fixes implements continually as they've changed and wear out over the years. Now with portable electric welders, his son works on heavy equipment; cats, graders and when not busy in the field, he works wrought iron into railings.
Before electric and acetylene welding there was forge welding. The smithy would fire up the coals, and hammer the heated parts together, mixing up the iron like bread until you couldn't tell where the weld was.
Heat was critical. Too hot and the iron would be brittle, too cold and it wouldn't hold. It's easier today - everything's easier today. But the Wolanski's are still there, working hard, in Smoky Lake.
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