Plevna is a small town about 45 miles southeast of Kirksville, with a population of only 25 or 30 people. During the Korean War, Smithy served in the Army from 1953 to 1954, and was stationed in various locations throughout the United States, but was born and has spent most of his life in Missouri. Before he began creating metal sculptures, Smithy ran a lime fertilizer hauling business. While he still dabbles in trucking occasionally, he is able to support his family solely from art sales revenue. Farm sales and junk yards are two main sources of materials for Smithy's art.
People here love it.
Smithy taught his grandson to weld when he was 9 years old, and the two often work together to construct the metal sculptures in Smithy's garage. Smithy says Roush has even sold some of his own creations. The small, free-standing garage where Smithy's metal artwork is born looks as weathered and rustic as the pieces he creates. The thin walls of the garage hide an interior packed with tools, rusty objects and metal figures still in progress. An old electric welder lies in the corner to cut and bind the metal parts that Smithy and his grandson envision.