The Ambroz Blacksmith Shop hasn't changed much since it opened in the 1920s. The false front covered in embossed tin is typical of commercial buildings of the day.
source: Farm and Food Report
The Ambroz Blacksmith Shop in Mossbank may not be the most glorious building in Saskatchewan, but it sure has significance in the hearts and minds of those who are concerned with the preservation of Saskatchewan's heritage.
It is the oldest known, fully furnished blacksmith shop still on its original site in Saskatchewan. Architecturally, it is a very simple, one-story commercial building with a gabled roof and a typical false front covered with embossed galvanized tin. It is located right on Main Street alongside the blacksmith's residence.
Both buildings were designated Provincial Heritage Properties in 2003. Roy Tollefson is President of the Mossbank and District Museum, which looks after the properties.
"Frank Ambroz came from Poland in the 1920s and operated a shop here for 60 years, until 1998. His commitment to providing blacksmithing services to our community could never be forgotten. His industry of choice played a vital role in Saskatchewan's development."
Tollefson recalls how, as early as 1885, the Plains transportation network depended on the blacksmiths' craft. This was a time of great uncertainty, due to the Northwest Resistance and the illicit liquor trade along the American border, when the Pole Trail and its signature telegraph line linked Moose Jaw to the Northwest Mounted Police's Wood Mountain Post.
"The trail of poles over the prairie allowed people to find their way when the trail was covered with snow in the winter, but more importantly perhaps, the Pole Trail would see as many as 300 horse-drawn wagons a day traveling on it before the arrival of the 'Steel' -- the railway. And long after the coming of trains to Mossbank, transportation of goods and people was still mostly done with horse and wagons -- including during the period when Frank Ambroz opened his shop."
With continuous use and the dry climate, wheels would shrink and lose their sturdiness with time. Ambroz would remove the rim from the wheel, heat up the iron rim over hot coals and crimp it so as to reduce its circumference. The entire rim would then be reheated and hammered back over the spokes. If the wooden spokes caught fire, the flames were doused with water. As the rim cooled, it contracted and tightened up on the wheel.
"He could fix just about anything in his shop. He had a four-cylinder stationary gas engine that powered a line shaft, with which he ran a heavy-duty drill and grinders. It also powered the trip hammer he used to create new edges and surfaces for a variety of implements. In particular, it was used to sharpen plough shares and cultivator shovels."
One of the most common agricultural tools that needed regular maintenance was the moldboard plough -- the classic single blade oxen or horse-drawn implement that turned long ribbons of sod with each pass on the virgin prairie. The larger moldboard ploughs, with a dozen or more bottoms, were pulled by huge steam tractors.
"Every now and again, when a particularly sandy area was ploughed, the plough shares had to be sharpened, and Frank did that for his customers. He was also a farrier, with a mind to constant innovation. He had installed a contraption of his own design to lift horses in the shop, in order to put shoes on them more easily. He was also his time's equivalent of a modern-day welder. He would undertake any kind of metal work."
In later years, Frank Ambroz acquired a portable electric welder. He went about doing smaller jobs around the countryside, as well as building all kinds of grain boxes for trucks.
"He also built a beautiful iron fence around his yard which showcases the apple trees he planted. Every last Wednesday in August, we host Apple Pie Day in Mossbank, in celebration of the role of the museum in our community and also Frank and Mary's life of service to this community," says Tollefson.
The Ambroz Shop is still in full working order, as is the stationary engine. Every year on July 1st, the community invites blacksmiths to come to town and bring the foundry alive again during Mossbank’s Blacksmith Festival.
"We have had the good fortune to have the support of blacksmiths from Moose Jaw, Briercrest and Ardill," Tollefson says. The blacksmithing tradition is alive and well along southern Saskatchewan's Pole Trail, thanks to Roy Tollefson and his friends at the Mossbank and District Museum.
For more information, contact:
Roy Tollefson
Mossbank and District Museum
(306) 354-2889
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