Item consists of a video recording of a live Zoom webinar hosted by Burnaby Village Museum Program Education Coordinator Ashley Jones and presented by Museum Interpreter and blacksmiths, Eric Damer ad Lorne Gray. The webinar is titled "50 Years of Blacksmithing at BVM". The webinar is the sixth in …
Date of Presentation: Tuesday, September 29, 2022. 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Total Number of tracks: 1
Total Length of all tracks: 94 min., 55 sec.
Recording Device: Zoom video communication platform
Original recording of 94 min., 55 sec.was edited to 89 min., 21 sec. for viewing on Heritage Burnaby
Scope and Content
Item consists of a video recording of a live Zoom webinar hosted by Burnaby Village Museum Program Education Coordinator Ashley Jones and presented by Museum Interpreter and blacksmiths, Eric Damer ad Lorne Gray. The webinar is titled "50 Years of Blacksmithing at BVM". The webinar is the sixth in a series of six webinars presented in partnership by Burnaby Village Museum and Burnaby Public Library. The live webinar was also made available on the Burnaby Village Museum's facebook page. Community members were invited to participate by bringing questions during the interactive online sessions.
The session opens with the host Ashley Jones, providing introductions. Following the introduction, the presentation begins with Eric Damer and Lorne Gray’s slide presentation titled “50 years of Blacksmithing at Burnaby Village Museum”. The presentation is an historical exploration of the blacksmith shop through images and commentary from these two long-standing museum blacksmiths.
Eric and Lorne's presentation is organized into themes beginning with “The Age of Nostalgia” where they discuss the implementation of the original Burnaby Village Museum blacksmithing shop and live exhibit with a working blacksmith when the museum opened in November 1971. They comment on the original design of the forge and other components implemented into the design of the blacksmith shop, stereotypes of blacksmiths and various items that were forged on site in the blacksmith shop. “The Age of Accuracy” looks at changes to the Burnaby Village Museum’s programming and exhibits in the 1980s which included focusing more on the history of Burnaby and upgrading some of the components in the blacksmith shop including blowers, tools, forge design and costuming. Eric and Lorne comment on the history of Burnaby blacksmith, Frank Wagner who operated as a blacksmith in Burnaby “Wagner & Son” on Kingsway. Frank was a trained machinist, farrier and an automotive blacksmith who patented and manufactured the “Wagner Triple Spring Bumper”. With this information, the Burnaby Village Museum changed the name of the blacksmith shop to reflect the history of Burnaby blacksmith Frank Wagner. In “The Age of Diversity” Eric and Lorne talk about a shift in the 1990s when the staffing of the blacksmith shop was diversified to include women and people from diverse cultural backgrounds. These changes as well as an increased interest in artistic blacksmithing also lead to updates in Burnaby Village Museum’s blacksmith training procedures and interpretation, increased course offerings in blacksmithing and a renovated blacksmith shop which included new forges and equipment as well as an improved viewing area. Eric and Lorne talk about specifics regarding blacksmithing techniques and equipment and improvements to make this exhibit more accessible.
Their presentation is followed by a short video highlighing Burnaby Village Museum interpreters who have worked as blacksmiths at Burnaby Village Museum. Each person shares their own perspectives on their experiences working as a blacksmith and interacting with the public.
In the last part of the webinar, Eric and Lorne answer questions from attendees and further reflect and comment on their own experiences working as blacksmiths, various tools and techniques used and blacksmithing course offerings at Burnaby Village Museum.
History
Host biography:
Ashley Jones is the Burnaby Village Museum Education Programmer, responsible for the development and administration of school and public programs at BVM. She has a Master of Arts degree in History and is passionate about creating hands-on programming that promotes historical and environmental literacy.
Presenters biography:
Eric Damer is a Burnaby Village Museum Interpreter, Museum Registrar, Researcher and Blacksmith. Eric pounded hot steel for the first time in 1977 in junior high. Fifteen years later, he joined Burnaby Village Museum where he has smithed for three decades. He also provides historical research for museum exhibits and special projects. Outside the museum, Eric is a social historian with a special interest in educational history.
Lorne Gray has a BA with a major in the History of Science and Technology. He took up blacksmithing as a hobby when he was promoted to middle management and had to start hitting things. He was hired by Burnaby Village Museum as a blacksmith to fill in during the Christmas season of 2001. He has attended several blacksmithing conferences and taken classes with both an artist blacksmith and a journeyman blacksmith. On the weekends, you’ll find him teaching many of the museum’s public blacksmithing courses. He also has a steam ticket that permits him to run the museum’s steam boiler and stationery steam engines.
Photograph of the exterior of a house located at 3955 Moscrop Street. The house was constructed in 1954. The photograph depicts the house at night, with the house's porch light on, and a car is in the driveway in front of the house.
Photograph of the exterior of a house located at 3955 Moscrop Street. The house was constructed in 1954. The photograph depicts the house at night, with the house's porch light on, and a car is in the driveway in front of the house.
Photograph of the front steps and the entrance of a three-storey apartment building located at 5130 Irving Street. The photograph depicts the building at night, with the lobby and some of the apartments' windows illuminated from inside. The building was constructed in 1971.
Photograph of the front steps and the entrance of a three-storey apartment building located at 5130 Irving Street. The photograph depicts the building at night, with the lobby and some of the apartments' windows illuminated from inside. The building was constructed in 1971.
Photograph of the entrance of an apartment building located at 5130 Irving Street. The building was constructed in 1971. The photograph depicts the entrance and the lobby from the exterior at night. The lobby is illuminated and a crest featuring an "E" is on the entrance window.
Photograph of the entrance of an apartment building located at 5130 Irving Street. The building was constructed in 1971. The photograph depicts the entrance and the lobby from the exterior at night. The lobby is illuminated and a crest featuring an "E" is on the entrance window.
Photograph of a multi-storey house located at 5990 Irmin Street. The photograph depicts of the exterior of the house at dusk; a light is on in one of the house's rooms and a vehicle is parked in the house's driveway next to a portable garage. A "For Sale" sign on the edge of the property reads: "Fu…
Photograph of a multi-storey house located at 5990 Irmin Street. The photograph depicts of the exterior of the house at dusk; a light is on in one of the house's rooms and a vehicle is parked in the house's driveway next to a portable garage. A "For Sale" sign on the edge of the property reads: "Future Development Land." Another house is visible in the background. The house was constructed in 1923 and is nearby to 7530 Buller Avenue.
Photograph of the front steps and entry to a three-storey apartment building, located at 6280 Marlborough Avenue. The photograph depicts the building at night and shows the brick building's details, including its lion statues and busts along the stair railings and the curved arches in front of the …
Photograph of the front steps and entry to a three-storey apartment building, located at 6280 Marlborough Avenue. The photograph depicts the building at night and shows the brick building's details, including its lion statues and busts along the stair railings and the curved arches in front of the front windows and door. The building was constructed in 1973.
Photograph of the exterior of a single-storey house located at 6410 Denbigh Avenue, taken from across the street at dusk. The house was constructed in 1949. Lights illuminate the front porch and the interior of one of the house's windows and there is a small amount of snow on the lawn in front of t…
Photograph of the exterior of a single-storey house located at 6410 Denbigh Avenue, taken from across the street at dusk. The house was constructed in 1949. Lights illuminate the front porch and the interior of one of the house's windows and there is a small amount of snow on the lawn in front of the house.
Photograph of the corner and side of the exterior of a concrete low-rise apartment building located at 6508 Silver Avenue. The photograph depicts the building at dusk. Some of the apartment windows are lit up from inside, and plant pots are lined up along the third-floor balcony. A chain link fence…
Photograph of the corner and side of the exterior of a concrete low-rise apartment building located at 6508 Silver Avenue. The photograph depicts the building at dusk. Some of the apartment windows are lit up from inside, and plant pots are lined up along the third-floor balcony. A chain link fence surrounds the backyard. The building was constructed in 1966.
Photograph of the entrance, including the front steps and ramp, to a low-rise apartment building located at 6615 Telford Avenue. The building was constructed in 1964. The photograph depicts the building at night, and trees and bushes partially obscure the entrance. The building's lobby is illuminat…
Photograph of the entrance, including the front steps and ramp, to a low-rise apartment building located at 6615 Telford Avenue. The building was constructed in 1964. The photograph depicts the building at night, and trees and bushes partially obscure the entrance. The building's lobby is illuminated and the apartments' mailboxes are visible through the window.
Photograph of the exterior of a two-storey apartment building located at 6692 Dow Avenue. The photograph depicts the building from across the street at night; the lobby and some of the apartment windows are lit up, with a bunch of balloons in one window, and a car is parked on the street in front o…
Photograph of the exterior of a two-storey apartment building located at 6692 Dow Avenue. The photograph depicts the building from across the street at night; the lobby and some of the apartment windows are lit up, with a bunch of balloons in one window, and a car is parked on the street in front of the building. The building was constructed in 1959.
Photograph of the entrance to an apartment building located at 6700 Dow Avenue. The photograph depicts the building at night; the lobby and stairs are illuminated by exterior and interior lights. The building was constructed in 1968.
Photograph of the entrance to an apartment building located at 6700 Dow Avenue. The photograph depicts the building at night; the lobby and stairs are illuminated by exterior and interior lights. The building was constructed in 1968.