Visit the Meriden Antique Engine and Threshers Association and the 1940 Fairbanks Morse at Clark’s Blacksmith during the 44th Fall Festival and Swap Meet.


The 44th Fall Festival and Swap Meet took place September 24-25 in Meriden, Kansas. The event was hosted by the Meriden Antique Engine and Threshers Association, a non-profit group founded in 1977 to promote a continued appreciation for antique engines, tractors, and early farming practices. The organization promotes old-fashioned farm living and educates the public on techniques used in the past. The full weekend experience had a little bit of everything to accomplish this mission.
In addition to an extensive flea market, craft vendors, and traditional fall foods, all manner of working displays can be found covering the fair grounds. A complex and well-executed use of power can easily be overlooked if you neglect to stop in the understated blacksmith shop.

Upon entry to this small marvel, you are greeted by a delicious smell — and no, not the scent of smelting iron, although some may find that enticing as well. The odor is wafting from chestnuts roasting in a toaster oven on the counter among various tools and typical blacksmithing accouterment. If you are lucky, you are offered a taste of this unique treat harvested from the tree planted just feet from the doorway. John Dempster and his wife, Kate Dempster, donated the chestnuts trees in 1983 when the memorial blacksmith shop was built, to honor the poem, The Village Blacksmith, written in 1842 by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.


Inside Clark’s Blacksmith
1940 Fairbanks Morse
- Company: Fairbanks Morse
- Year: 1940
- Flywheel width: 4-inches
- Flywheel diameter: 40-inches
- Horsepower: 12
- Ignition: Magneto
- Owner: Kirk Jackson
The atmosphere of the shop is best described as busy, with belts turning here and there, and a mixture of loud repetitive sounds to accompany them. It’s long, narrow, and primitive with a lengthy line shaft running from one end to the other. A small corridor on the side houses a 12hp Fairbanks Morse. The large engine has a wide belt connecting it to the line shaft with the ability to run 12 pieces of antique metal-working equipment from the single power source. Each belt running from the shaft has its own clutch, enabling the smiths to disable power to that tool without stopping others from running. A craftsman can forge, hammer, grind, punch, drill or lathe pieces as long as the Fairbanks Morse continues working away in the back room. The Fairbanks Morse is from the 1940s and was originally used in an oil field in Southern Kansas.



The names and photos of the blacksmiths who have worked in the shop are framed along the rafters above the equipment, lending to the personal feel of the workshop. “My dad started that condition, taking everyone’s photo,” says Kirk Jackson of his father, Keith Jackson. Smiths of the past and present include: Keith Jackson, Les Noll, Ben Olson, Brian Ottoway, Alvin Anderson, Gary Bowen, Jesse Bruner, Kever Irwin, Bill Buschbom, Kirk Jackson, Ted McCoy, John Kessinger, Bill Kabus, Bill Kabus Jr., Norm Davis, Robert Davis, Harold Royer, Steve Culver, David McCoy, and Meryle Lovendahl. The names are a reminder of the generational knowledge passed from father to son, as well as to memorialize those craftsmen who have passed.



Videos from the showgrounds
This memorial is dedicated to Clark Jackson
This blacksmith shop was built with money received from the Clark Jackson memorial fund. Clark Jackson was killed in an automobile accident on the 19th of July, 1982. He was 21 years old. Clark was an active member of the Meriden Antique Engine and Threshers Association and was interested in antiques and collectibles. One item that Clark thought would be a nice addition to the show grounds was a blacksmith shop.
When nearly $700 was received from the memorial fund, we started planning a building. It was decided the building would be 20 feet by 40 feet in dimension. On the first two work days, October 9 and 10, 1982, post holes were dug and the poles were set. While one crew was setting poles, another crew was working, using the sawmill, cutting lumber to dimensions for plates, rafters, nailers and siding. All the lumber used in this building is cottonwood, sycamore and oak. All the logs used to cut this lumber were donated by people in the local communities: Meriden, Valley Falls, and Rock Creek. By the end of the first two work days the poles were set, the rafters were up, and the nailers were on. During the next two work days, October 23 and 24, the sawmill crew went to work again sawing siding boards, trim, boards and eaves trough material. Another crew started shingling. The shingles on this building are the old style cedar shingle. The eaves trough on this building are oak as they were on early buildings. At the end of these two work days, the roof was shingled, the siding was on, and most of the eave trough was up. On the third set of work days, December 11 and 12, 1982, gravel was put on the floor, the eave trough was finished, and the doors were built and hung.
It took only six days to start and finish this building.
The preceding text is posted on the shop wall.
The blacksmith under the chestnut tree
A copy of “The Village Blacksmith,” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, has been laminated and hung for visitors to read. The copy shows its age with smudges from well-worked hands and an environment full of ashes.
The Village Blacksmith
Written in 1842 by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Under a spreading chestnut tree
The village smithy stands;
The smith, a mighty man is he,
With large and sinewy hands;
And the muscles of his brawny arms
Are strong as iron bands.
His hair is crisp, and black, and long,
His face is like the tan;
His brow is wet with honest sweat,
He earns whate’er he can,
And looks the whole world in the face,
For he owes not any man.
Week in, week out, from morn till night,
You can hear his bellows blow;
You can hear him swing his heavy sledge,
With measured beat and slow,
Like a sexton ringing the village bell,
When the evening sun is low.
And children coming home from school
Look in at the open door;
They love to see the flaming forge,
And hear the bellows roar,
And catch the burning sparks that fly
Like chaff from a threshing-floor.
He goes on Sunday to the church,
And sits among his boys;
He hears the parson pray and preach,
He hears his daughter’s voice,
Singing in the village choir,
And it makes his heart rejoice.
It sounds to him like her mother’s voice,
Singing in Paradise!
He need must think of her once more,
How in the grave she lies;
And with his hard, rough hand he wipes
A tear out of his eyes.
Toiling,–rejoicing,–sorrowing,
Onward through life he goes;
Each morning sees some task begin,
Each evening sees it close
Something attempted, something done,
Has earned a night’s repose.
Thanks to thee, my worthy friend,
For the lesson thou hast taught!
Thus at the flaming forge of life
Our fortunes must be wrought;
Thus on its sounding anvil shaped
Each burning deed and thought.
The MAETA summer show was featured in the October 2017 issue of our sister publication, Farm Collector. Learn more about the Meriden Antique Engine and Threshers Association.
Christine Stoner is the editor of Gas Engine Magazine. Contact her at editor@gasenginemagazine.com.