The St. Mary banner. (Franklin, Parish of St. Mary, La.) 1889-1931, 1907-11-30
a GIRL BLACKSMITH.
Only Sixteen, and Her Fathers As
sistant in Shooting Horses.

sstant in Shoeng Horses.
Why should not a girl shoe horses
If she wants to: 1t is a tritle unusual.
but if she likes the work and is
equal to it why should she not do 1t?
That is what Minnie HagnAnn.
young Missouri girl. thought, and. &C
cordingly, she became assistant in her
fathers blacksmith shop, and thereby
gave another jolt to the Old deiu-
sions regarding woman's sphere. l.
is a strange thing, by the way. that
the being who is considered perfect
" able to rear thirteen children and
do the work of large farmhouse
should be thought debarred by the
delicacy of her sex from the heavier
occupations" However. girls like
Minnie Hagmann are helping to up
set the mistaken notion.
Minnie Hagmann is the daughter OF
q man who began life as journey
man blacksmith, but who, becoming
ambitious, resolved to have a shop OF
his own. He got the shop, a little
one inst outside ST. Louis, and got
into it, but simultaneously and In
consequence he got into debt. 1t took
80 much of his income to pay interest
on building and tools that he could
not afford the assistant he needed.
III be your assistant said the
sixteen-year-old Minnie.
Minnie was quite Injured to the
smell of singed hair and burning hOof.
for she had always been fond Of hang
ing about her father in his work. He
decided to let her try, and she soon
proved herself as deXterOus as any
man in bending shoe en- the anvil
and putting it on a horse. Not that
she is at all the masculine type OF
girl. She is pretty in a large and
healthful way with fine bloom on
her cheeks, and has a pleasant, girl
ish manner.
but I'd rather help father in the
shop than do Homework" she says.
candidly. 1T seems to agree with me.
too. l feel we'll all the time, but I'm
always ready to go to bed, can tell
you, after days work. I'm glad,
too, when Sunday comes and l get
a chance to help mother with the
housework and to go to church. But
l like the shop, and l think women
can do manual work just the same
as men if they're strong and healthy.
l can't lift the weights my father can,
but l can shoe a horse and build a
wagon perfectly we'll. No, l don't
care about getting married. There
are so many young fellows who cant
make living for themselves, much
less a wife's living. think I'm safer
sticking to my trade"
1t is a brave sight to see Mimi.
swinging the hammer over the anvil
and then picking up the horses foot
and fitting on the shoe. She has
never yet been injured by horse
She talks to the horses with little
pats and rubbings behind their ears
and on their noses, never with tbs
whip.
1.-The only way to get on the good
side Of a horse is to be decent with
him." she says III you beat horse
are like men. When they are treated
right they will act right"
Minnie's father is immensely proud
of his young assistant. ''She IS bet
ter blacksmith than the average help
err" he says, land there's no part OF
wagon that she can't make. And
she takes more interest in my bust
ness than l could ever expect of any
hired man. After working in the shop
all day she does the bookkeeping in
the evenings. leave all that to her.
She needn't work in the shop if she
doesn't want to. She can leave any
time she likes. though I'd be mighty
sorry to lose her. And she seer1s to
like 1t. She says she's going to keep
right on till she's as good black.
smith as there is In the country"
And there is no idling in the Hag-
mann shop. Work begins there early
in the morning and continues until
dark. And from opening until clos
ing time Minnie is on hand, working
side by side with her father and as
hard as he She returns the shod
horses to their owners, too; goes out
collecting bills and fetches iron for
the shop when it is needed. Often
she is out long after dark on these
errands, but, as her father says, her
work has made her the equal of any
man in strength, and consequently she
is not afraid. For all this going about
she has a pony of her own, named
Fawn. When her father gave Fawn
to her he (the pony was composed
principally of ribs and skin, but un.
der the care of his mistress he has
become sleek, plump, nimble bit Of
horseflesh.