McHenry County News FRE
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Volume 6 Issue 33
AUGUST 11, 2016
WOODSTOCK CAR WASH N O W O P E N
• 3 Heated Bays • Brand New Vacuums • Automatic Wash Now Open • 7’ High and Large Enough for Dually Pickup Trucks
218 Fair Street, Woodstock, IL (Behind McDonalds)
239731
Patriot’s Valice Motorcycle Ride By Anne Eickstadt, CORRESPONDENT
McHenry County’s first United States Marine Corps Patriot Ride took place on Saturday, July 30, 2016. Based at the Woodstock Harley-Davidson dealership, all branches of the military as well as civilians are welcome to ride. “Half the proceeds are going to ‘Honor America’s Valor’ to benefit Gold Star families,” says Marty Smith III, 2nd District Commandant of the Marine Corps League of Illinois. “The other half are going to the Marine Corps Birthday Ball.” ‘Honor America’s Valor’ founder and CEO, Mark Titre, is on site for the event. “We basically honor fallen military and first responders such as police, and firemen. In 2011, we created the print we use. The artist is from Elgin. We love liberty and freedom and there is a price which is paid for that. This is just a small way to say, ‘Thank you for your sacrifice’.” “Each print of the painting is customized with the honoree’s name, rank and biography on it. It is customized, framed and presented to the families of the fallen,” Titre says. “Without the people who support us, we couldn’t do this for the Gold Star families around the country.” So far, Honor America’s Valor has been able to reach out to over 700 Gold Star families. Bob and Linda Stack of Arlington Heights, parents of the late Lt. Cpl. James Bray Stack were present at the Patriot Ride with their grand-daughter, 6 year old Mikala Stack. Mikala’s father died on November 10, 2010. November 10 is significant to today’s event as it is the date of the Marine Corps’ birthday.
See PATRIOT’S, Page 2
ANNE EICKSTADT PHOTO McHenry County News
These two Gold Star families have lost a loved one in combat. Melissa & John Cummings with 6 year old Mikala Stack, and her grandparents Bob & Linda Stack.
Backyard Blacksmithing By Anne Eickstadt, CORRESPONDENT
The July meeting of the Northern Illinois Anvil and Hammer club in McHenry featured a guest speaker, Lorelei Sims, artist/blacksmith. She is also the author of the best-selling book ‘The Backyard Blacksmith’. “I am honored to say that it is considered the bible of beginning blacksmiths,” Sims says. “At the recent ABANA conference [Artist-Blacksmith’s Association of North America on July 13-16], everyone came up to me and said, ‘Yours was our first blacksmith book’.” “One of the really cool things about blacksmithing is that you’re not only creating a piece, you can create the tools you use. There’s an art and a science to it. If you look at the customized tools, their design is an art in itself.” Blacksmiths can create their own customized tools for the type of work they do and the specific project they are working on. The tools may need to be larger or smaller to fit the piece or the smith’s grip, curved, pointed, or specialized in whatever way is necessary. “I studied art, metalwork and sculpture at Eastern Illinois University,” Sims tells me. “In my last year, they hired a blacksmith to do demonstrations at their big art show. I saw that the interaction between man and metal was so direct. The fire and metal and anvil and man. It is the most direct way to shape metal.” Metal working is in Sims’ heritage. Her greatgrandfather was a seventh generation coppersmith in Denmark. He died two years before she was born, but she grew up with unique ‘functional art’ in her home. “I opened my shop in 1993. It is an old filling station at a five point intersection. It is shaped like a piece of pie. It’s unique and odd and I love it. Even though I don’t consider myself to be a traditional blacksmith, my shop is very traditional. I do repairs and restoration and replace parts. People come to me because they need my
services. It is my contribution to the community.” “Recently, a couple of television shows have given blacksmithing a reboot. I can tell because I am getting a lot of phone calls from teens and their parents who want to learn,” Sims continues. “One of them is ‘Forged in Fire’ [History Channel]. Another is ‘A Craftsman’s Legacy’ with Eric Gorges on PBS.” Sims appeared on Episode 9, Season 1, and taught Gorges how to make a letter opener/dagger at her own smithy. Then Sims visited Gorges’ shop. “I got to make a motorcycle fender using machinery I had never used before. It took me four hours. It takes Eric 20 minutes to do the same thing.” “The Northern Illinois Anvil & Hammer club is the newest addition to the legacy of Illinois blacksmiths.” Located on the property of Jerry & Helen Freund in McHenry, they welcome anyone who would like to learn the craft or hanging out with others interested in blacksmithing and learning new techniques or variations of techniques they already use. Blacksmiths in your area can be located by going online to groups such as ABANA, Artist-Blacksmith’s Association of North America; UMBA, Upper Midwest Blacksmith Association; or IVBA, Illinois Valley Blacksmith Association. Northern Illinois Anvil & Hammer club has a Facebook page if you want to learn about them. Lorelei Sims can be found online at www. blacksmithchic.com. She is the author of “The Backyard Blacksmith” and a new magazine “Organic Metalworking”. The Five Points Blacksmith Shop is located at 6146 Snake Trail Road, Charleston, IL 61920. If you would like to watch a blacksmith in action, club member Kris Sutherland does regular demonstrations at the Barrington Area History Museum, 212 W. Main Street, Barrington, Illinois, 60010, www. barringtonhistorymuseum.org.
ANNE EICKSTADT PHOTO McHenry County News
Lorelei Sims, artist/blacksmith is coiling a metal rod into a fishtail scroll.