Dallin's Forge

A little story about Dallin: sometime this year Dallin kept asking me to take him to Grandpa Clouse's house. He was certain he had seen some fireproof bricks out in the pasture next to the chicken coup. I don't know that he ever found them, but soon I found him in the back yard with a propane torch used for burning weeds and some bricks and there he was trying to heat up metal so he could re-shape it. As Christmas got closer I would ask him what gift he wanted and he answered, "an I-beam". I didn't know what he meant and I asked him (jokingly) if it has something to do with an iphone. I had no idea what he was talking about. He said, "No, Mom. An I-beam used in metal construction." That's the only I beam I had heard of but what would he want one for? He said he needed it as part of his blacksmith set up. Grandpa Brimhall heard of Dallin's homemade forge, his need of an I-beam and his metal-working hobby and found him a section of beam and brought it down. Then he was kind enough to take Dallin to Joseph City where he has a friend who is a master blacksmith. Dallin was inspired by the pieces and projects that this guy had done. Papa bought Dallin a new forge and Dallin promised to make that man a Snap-On letter opener for his time.