Ken Wyatt
Time was – back in the 19th century – when even the smallest villages in Jackson County had a local smithy. A couple, built of stone, still are standing at Sandstone and Pulaski. But who would build a blacksmith shop in 2026?
Good question, but then there are the backward-and-forward-looking folks of the Hanover-Horton Area Historical Society. Every summer they sponsor an event called the Rust ‘n Dust Tractor and Farm Show, a one-day event. Next year’s event will mark 35 years since the event was launched.
This year’s featured addition to the park provided many of the 600 or so who attended with a look inside Jackson County’s new smithy shop.
This writer was there after receiving a tip and an invitation from Camiel Thorrez. A Concord resident, he is president of C. Thorrez Industries, which celebrated its centennial in 2019. And, as he explained, his role stems from an earlier invitation. He had been asked to meet with a committee interested in creating an on-site blacksmith shop at Heritage Park, where the Rust ‘N Dust Day is held in Hanover.
That led to a link between the new shop and a much older one — the Vogt Blacksmith Shop, which operated on Francis Street in downtown Jackson for more than seven decades – 1919 until 1993.
That’s when Alfred Vogt closed up shop to make way for a $12 mllion improvement to the Commonwealth Commerce Center.
So how did Thorrez, grandson of a Belgian immigrant, become involved with a blacksmith shop established by a Prussian immigrant?
Here’s how he explained that:
“I’ve always been interested in the history of the man and his tools and had plans to create a museum. Vogt had the overhead pulley system to run their machinery, the same that my Grandpa Thorrez had in the factory from his start in 1919 through the mid 1930s.
“We even have old home movies inside the shop from 1930. Anyway, I bid on the shaft and pulley system and won. When the sign came up, I knew I had to have it.”
Yes, it is that Vogt Blacksmith Shop sign which Thorrez has contributed to the new shop in Heritage Park. It is now on display inside the shop, which is due to have a grand opening sometime in the next weeks.
At a brief ceremony inside the new shop last Saturday, Janette Weimer of the local historical society introduced Thorrez and others involved in planning and building the shop.
Several members of the Vogt family were present, along with others with both an historic interest and a background in smithing.
The formalities were minimal, and any ceremony seemed to fade into conversations and comments by audience and family members.
One of those present was Linda Bowers, whose husband Robert had a small blacksmith area in his workshop. She donated his tools, which helped launch the project, according to Janette Wiemer. Another person present was Eric Vogt, whose father Alfred closed the Vogt Blacksmith Shop in 1993 and who provided some photographic glimpses into his father’s work at the old shop.
There was much more taking place at Heritage Park than the events in the new smithy shop. There were antique tractor pulls, threshing displays, Kids on the Farm activities, crafts, wagon rides and food vendors.
Wiemer has been involved for the past decade and is now on the historical society’s board of directors. She gave some background on the day: “Rust n’ Dust began with tractor pulls at farmers’ property. Then the property across from the organ museum became available and the community pulled together to purchase it for farming income and a place to hold tractor pulls.
“It grew from there. We now have many activities. My personal favorite, Kids on the Farm, is where we have a great variety of farming/household chore type of activities for children, such as gathering and grading eggs, milking a plywood cow, using a hand pump, doing laundry, grinding wheat and churning butter.”
Those farm-related activities could be seen taking place throughout the park. Some children were hanging clothes on a line. Three men were operating a 1922 steam-driven tractor. There were food venders operating out of wagons and vehicles. Others were housed in a large building just inside the entrance.
Everywhere, people were friendly and ready to enjoy conversations about the event and those involved. Except for a few drops of rain here and there, it was an idyllic day for a farm-based community.
