Ways of Life

00000177-ba84-d5f4-a5ff-bbfc9baa0000Ways of Life airs every second Monday at 8:40am and 5:45pm.Our series Ways of Life is A collection of stories about people who live down the street... our neighbors: Fishermen, scientists, craftspeople, recovering addicts, surgeons, dog rescuers, motorcycle gang members, nursing home residents, musicians, the homeless, kid athletes, social activists, and all the others who share this place.Each portrait becomes part of the surprising, interwoven tapestry of our lives together here on the Cape, Coast and Islands. Ways of Life is edited by Jay Allison and produced by our production partners at Atlantic Public Media Ways of Life is made possible by The Circle of Ten, ten local businesses and organizations committed to local programming on WCAI.

Barnstable Blacksmith Holds Steadfast to an Ancient Craft

By Sam Kimball

Published September 24, 2018 at 7:45 AM EDT

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Photos by Sam Kimball. September 2017.

In a smokey shop in Barnstable, Norah Bourbon is doing her best to hold on to the ancient craft of blacksmithing in its simplest form, with hammer, anvil, and a coal-fired furnace. Learning the craft directly with master blacksmiths, she aims to carry on the art for new generations on the Cape who might want to take up hammer.

Norah Bourbon turns the hand-run air pump into her coal-fired furnace in her shop in Barnstable.

Credit . Photos by Sam Kimball. September 30, 2017

You can get more information and see more of Norah's work here.

This piece came to us from our production partners at Atlantic Public Media through their media training program, The Transom Story Workshop in Woods Hole. Sam is a graduate of the workshop and you can find out more about that program at transom.org.

Ways of life is edited by Jay Allison and made possible by the Circle of Ten - ten local businesses and organizations committed to local programming on WCAI.