Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1902-10-06
Women as Biaeksmiths.

Miss Nora Stanton Batch az ron
don. VINO has passed the entrance ~
animation to the civil engineerin,
course at Cornell University. Is me nr'
woman student 10 be admitted 10 ;hjs
department. Miss Blatch is the granJ'
daughter of Elizabeth Cady Stantna
she IS young woman OF about N fail
and Of the brunette type,
When Miss Batch entered Cornell,
last year she chose the arts conrse
but later. developing ability in ma,hs
maticS, she concluded to take M ~
engineering course. Three other OR,
students determined to do the sam.
thing, but none o. them passed the or.
One reason for Miss Blatch's suecess
undoubtedly lay in the fact that she
had already dipped into engineering and
metallurgy, besides doing CONSIDERABLE
practical work in blacksmithing saws thn
New York Tribune. While at Cornell sha
will be obliged to attend lectures. the
only woman in 4 crowd Of men: 10 do,,
the leather apron and do field work Il,
the same exclusively male society. b,,t 4,
the Horace Mann High School in this c;ty.
she was also the only woman in the de-
par:ment Of forge work When Mis-
Blatch graduated from the Mann School
in 1901 she had completed the course in
manual training. in which smithy work
plays prominent role. three 3-m.nute
periods week being devoted to II
TN Ddeiipbt piAt sttT- w OTking al
of the 20 FORCES in the big blacksmith
ing room at the Teachers College she
ieaIned To make lamp stands fire screens
drawer pulls door handles ard Knockers
Here she mastered such unfeminine sub
jects as the making and temperirg Of
steel dies, and explored the mysteries OF
the common iron ores. Bessemer steel
and blast furnaces. Miss Blatch's black
, smithing has won her prize.
Besides Miss Blatch. only one other
girl Is said TO have taken up forge work
ut the Horace Mann High School, and
she did not finish the course
At first thought blacksmithing seems
about the unlikelieSt accomplishment In
the world for a woman to choose. But,
al the same blacksmithing is among the
arts and crafts now cultivated by the
progressive American girl 1t is one Of
the occupations followed. at THE Shop"
that interesting experiment in arts aud
crafts in this city. Workers at THE
shop women as well as men-have been
using the forge of an automobile COM
pany and hanging flower baskets. Ian
terms, swinging signs and candlesticks
are shown as the fruit of their industry.
| II is the intention of city architect. vino
| is interested in the movement TO have
the handwrought bolts. hinges and door
handles that are usually made by
| Italian artisans done at '''lhe Shop for
/ the houses he designs.
'Blacksmithing is fearfuily hard work,
said a New York woman arcitect VINO
I has tried it. to a Tribune reporter yes
terday THE girl who wields hammer
must have muscles like whipcord, chest
| Of steel and back as strong as the iron
/ she manipulates Even then she will find
| that q little of it goes a long way.
"Forgework overdevelops some muscles
making ugly humps and bulSes II per-
sisted in. therefore it is not an ideal sys-
TEN of gymnastics. Besides it Is very
dirty: there is no Disgusting that-m
fact il is not a woman's occupation.
There are not many things Of which TINS
can be said but smithing is, certainly
one However, I believe in women try
ing their hand at everything. Forgework
is good fun. | have taken it up as "a
recreation merely. and enjoy dash a.
il now and again. Often women VINO
require an insight into the WORKING VI
hot iron study at a foundry, where they
familiarize themselves with all the
processes involved, although the actlai
manipulation is done by the neu.
Women architects are expected to Under
stand wrought iron thoroughly. ai.housi
il is no more essential for them 10 per
form the actual manual labor thah Ior
them to do the carpenter WORK on lug
buildings they erect. -. q !,
..Designing for wrought iron Is y
branch to which the artistic taste aiu
invention of women lend themselves au-
mirably There is great neiu LOT woi,.n
right here. Hsnd-wrought IRON lep III
senfs an art in itself. with principles anu
standards of its own. and these must "
observed lust as in sculpture or aIcni-
lecture One woman out West mas upIe
so well with this sort OF desighins tloa ne.
she is now employed exclusively py cno
great iron firm. More women might io'-
low in this path with profit.