Pioneer Days Teach Kids About Blacksmithing

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TUPELO, Miss. (WCBI) — Life wasn’t so easy for our forefathers.

That is why the Oren Dunn Museum in Tupelo hosted pioneer days this weekend.

It was a living history display for visitors, particularly children who learned about a profession that has virtually disappeared in the 21st Century, blacksmith. Oren Dunn Curator Rae Mathis-Guess says he was a very essential part of the community in times past.
“We have children who come through for tours. When we take them to the blacksmith shop we let them know there was no Walmart, no Tupelo Hardware. So if someone needed a wheel spoke fixed or a utensil to get lids out the fire they would have to go the blacksmith. And so every village was dependent on a blackmith.”

Mathis-Guess says that the living history display also included the grinding of corn which they actually fed to live chickens at the museum. She says this year’s Pioneer days provided fun and education for the entire family.