Henderson daily dispatch. (Henderson, N.C.) 1914-1995, 1939-01-14
Daily Dispatch Bureau,
In the Sir Walter Hotel.
BY G.. LYNN NISBET.

Raleigh, Jan. 14-Spending the eve
of his seventy-fifth birthday at his
anvil and forge, and asking no favors
because of his age, Zebulon H. Hamil-
ton today completed forty-seven years
of active blacksmith work. More than
one-third of that time has been spent
on his present job as blacksmith al
the central State highway shops five
miles west of Raleigh.
An old-fashioned Woodworking
smith, Mr.. Hamilton has little pat
fence with such new tangled devices
as acetylene torches, air hammers
and electric welding equipment. He
learned his trade under men who
were born before acetylene or cleo
tricity or even steel was known, and
he tolds to the old faith in the virtue
of manual labor.
Not only that. He came along at .
time when a man had to work ana
work hard for a living, and when the
security of himself and his family was
an individual responsibility. So he
says to let the old folks and incom-
petent youngsters look to the govern
ment for help. He can take care OF
himself
Perhaps no blacksmith in the State
has his work as widely used as docs
"old man. Hamilton, Tor he has been
chief smith at the highway shops since
their establishment here nearly TWEEN
ty years ago. The seventy-fifth an
niversary of his birth occurs Sunday
and the boys who are now and VIII )
have been in the past employed at
the shops with him made up a sub
stantial purse and presented him a.
close of work time today a new het
and enough cash to give him a good
weekend trip. Reasonably enough, he
is using part of that money for &
visit to his sister at Aberdeen who
has just passed her eighty-ninth birth
day. He will spend Sunday with her.
because "she is gcttin' kinder oil
and I think it will do her good for
me to visit her."
Born in Wake county while the
Civil War was raging, Mr. Hamilton
began work as carly as he can re-
member, and set out on his own at
the age of IS. After one or two dosul-
tory jobs, he landed a laborer's jo'.
with the old North Carolina Wagon
Company here and was assigned to
the blacksmith shop turning spOkes
for wagon wheels. The wagon worls
went bust, and was bought in by tn.
late John A. Mills, railroad builder
who had his own crew of workers
Hamilton went with his former fore
man to a local blacksmith shop.
Just about that time he married and
bought the home in which he now
lives in Raleigh, and opened his own
shop on the lot. Honest work, fair
treatment of patrons and native
business instinct brought prosperity.
Now and then a new house was built
on the lot, so that when the children
grew up there were homes ready fo7'
them. There are four sons and four
daughters living and three of them
live right by the "old folks" l don't
know how many grandchildren there
are" he said, "but I do know there
are more than twenty"
The oldest boy now superintendent
of the shops where the old man works.
Barney is boss in the shop" said Mr.
Hamilton this morning, "But l can
still paddle him when I get hin,
lomo" Others who work in the shop
say that there is one corner of the
sprawling sheet iron building where
"Earny" is not boss, for the old black
smith rules his own domain with legal
prerogative. Kind and courteous to
other workers, always willing to favor
them by sharpening tools, repairing
broken equipment, etc., even at the
expense of letting his own job fall be-
hind, he reserves the right to order
off his particular premises any in
truders, whether on business or pleas
ure bent. When the superintendent
Of the whole shops gets in his way.