Comment
Comment
re: #356 Decatur Deb
Yup. That’s the kind of folklore mentioned above. Simple answer: A group of marginal people during an economic catastrophe developed a set of useful skills and contacts, and shared them.
This is not the reference I recall reading, but it agrees with my memory of it.
Anthropologist Morris Frielich suggests a cultural lure for ironworking: He compares high-steel Mohawks to warriors who risked death and returned with booty. Some anthropologists have also suggested that the risky work gave tribesmen a chance to test and display their courage.
While many Mohawk ironworkers admit to taking pride in doing a dangerous and important job, they dispute the idea that they’re not afraid of heights. Kahnawake ironworker Don Angus says Mohawks simply “have more respect for heights. You’ve got to watch it up there.”
On the other hand, some historians and some Mohawks cite the tribes’ ancient tradition of building longhouses as proof that building has always been in the blood. “It’s a hand-me-down trade, and it’s tradition,” says Angus. “My grandfather and his grandfather worked on iron.” Akwesasne ironworker Mike Swamp agrees: “My father was an ironworker. My son is an ironworker. It’s a family tradition.”
Historians say the first Mohawk construction workers were relegated to grunt work, but when ironworkers were needed at the start of the 20th century to build steel deck bridges and skyscrapers, the Mohawks were more willing to take on the risky work than other workers. They were especially good at riveting, for example.
If you’ve ever seen footage of high iron workers back in the day, it’s just amazing. It’s not just the guys walking nonchalantly along a foot-wide girder hundreds of feet in the air. The rivets used to join the girders together had to be red hot, and were hammered into place. One or two guys would heat the rivets in a furnace till red hot, then toss them with tongs to the riveters, who would catch them in a small bucket. Like baseball practice, but somewhat more dangerous.
