Moorhead High welding students learn blacksmithing to make poppies to commemorate WWI
April 7, 2016
Moorhead High welding students learned traditional blacksmith techniques to make poppies to honor World War I blacksmiths.
The Moorhead High School welding class taught by Jeff Schneider worked with local blacksmith Ralf Mehnert on March 29 to learn how to use the forge, hammer and anvil to shape the steel poppies. The students’ poppy flowers will be sent to Ypres, Belgium, for the 100th commemoration of WWI.
“These welding students have been taught to join and shape metal using modern equipment, technology and techniques,” Schneider said. “Seeing them use historic tools like an anvil, hammer and fire to create something is amazing.”
According to Schneider the students used similar techniques dating back over thousands of years to shape and mold the steel poppy flowers.
“The poppies will represent some of the 17 million people killed during World War I in a 100-year Cenotaph memorial located in Belgium,” Schneider said. “What a great way to be a part of a world-wide event!”
According to the Ypres 2016 website, in World War I blacksmiths and farriers were indispensable in sustaining the war effort. In September 2016, blacksmiths from around the world will come together in Ypres to remember those affected by the war and to create a Cenotaph based on the internationally recognized icon, the Flanders Field Poppy. Learn more at
www.ypres2016.com
.
See more photos on our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/MoorheadSchools.
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