Oliver Hamelin was born in St. Raphael’s in
1902. He had learned the skills of blacksmithing from his father who was also a
blacksmith on the 9th concession in Lancaster, Ontario, just east of
the Glen Nevis side road. Hamelin and his wife moved to the village of Apple
Hill around 1912 where he purchased his first ever blacksmith shop.
Oliver
Hamelin shod horses, built and repaired sleighs and wagons and installed steel
tires on wagons and steel runners on sleighs. He also made handles for various
types of farm tools and kitchen tools for the home. In his later and more
experienced years, he made fireplace tool sets. Although Hamelin and his wife never
had children, he loved children and they were always welcomed in his shop. His
shop also became the social gathering place for the elderly men and women of
the village. Oliver Hamelin was known to be an avid storyteller and was a
favourite interview source for historians.
Hamelin was the last operating blacksmith shop in the Glengarry County
and among the last blacksmith shop in Canada. Hamelin was active in the same
shop for 53 years. He passed away in the last week of June in 1984 at the age
of 82. His shop is now located here in the village of Dunvegan at the Glengarry
Pioneer Museum, where his shop continues to tell the story of the life of a
blacksmith.
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