Warren was interested in many crafts, but the following deserve
special mention here: blacksmithing, broom-making,
rock-fence building, and wood-carving. Each of these was
present in southern Indiana, and each drew the attention of
Warren and his students.
Courtesy
of Patricia Glushko
"Another point on the crafts in general concerns the individual—the
farmer—as his own craftsman. For practically every craft to
be enumerated below there were specialized craftsmen, such
as blacksmiths, coopers, wheelwrights, and so on, but many
farmers had the ability and the tools to carry on to some
extent these specialized crafts themselves. The situation
varied a great deal from individual to individual, but many
farmers could make simple items from metal, wood, and
leather, or repair broken or worn items without requiring
the services of a specialized craftsman, and it is likely
that a farmer with the tools and a special ability in a
craft such as blacksmithing would assist his neighbors even
though it remained s sideline with him and he never became a
specialist. At the same time, craftsmen were usually
part-time farmers who had some land on which they grew crops
and raised animals, devoting their time to their own farm
when they could. Hence it is difficult to draw a hard and
fast line between the farmer and the specialized craftsman.
The specialized craftsman, however, devoted much more time
to his craft and derived a significant amount of his income
from it in comparison to the average farmer."
Warren Roberts
Warren on blacksmithing:
"I
can talk by the hour to a blacksmith about the tools he uses
and why he can do certain things with wrought iron and other
things with steel. I have no need to try to explain to him
what folklife research is. All I have to do is tell him that
I am interested in blacksmithing and that is enough."
“The
Folklife Approach to Textiles,” in Viewpoints, 23.
Furniture