The craftmanship of the past is an inspiration for many of us today. Items were made by hand with thought in mind. Even though they were utilitarian, they became works of art.
    In childhood, my father introduced me to some of these handmade tools. These tools were once used by local blacksmiths and woodwrights back when our nation was fighting for its independence.
    My interests in these tools also spilled over to colonial homes and barn construction. My woodwright shop originally stood in Hebron center and was built around 1830, 122 years after Hebron was an established town. This shed was given to my father in the mid 1970’s, when the property owner needed the space for other uses. I helped my father remove the siding and roof boards and drove out the pegs which held the frame together. We numbered all the parts as we took it apart. All the pieces were then stored in my father’s barn until we were able to raise it, behind my home, in 1986.   

   The chestnut timbers would have been cut at a local up and down sawmill, utilizing the brook that crosses my property today.
Behind the lot that this carriage shed once stood, still stands a wonderful home built in 1816, by a local cabinet maker. Recently, I had the opportunity to document the original woodwork and hardware that remains in the home 207 years later. As I stood in the great room and kitchen, I could not help but imagine the family gathering around the hearth of the large center fireplace, sharing a meal and discussing their day. Within the center fireplace still swings the original crane that held the pots for their meals. On the right side of the fireplace, the beehive oven still shows the remains of a fire built to bake the bread, pies, and cakes.
    The hardware that hangs the doors and the thumb latches that close the doors would have been crafted by the local blacksmith one quarter mile away. Just touching and sketching these items gives me a connection to the past and our forefathers and their great craftsmanship. They had the satisfaction of making what they needed to survive, using their own hands.
    Let us not lose that satisfaction in this busy world we live in today. Slow down, take some time to make something, big or small, with your own two hands. It just may last for generations to come.

Freddy Brehant
F. Brehant Village Blacksmiths & Woodwright LLC