2011.42.06

"Bekken's blacksmith-shop structure still stands today, reminding us that in the days before the automobile the villages were kept on the move by the blacksmith who repaired and built carriages and wagons and shod the horses.2" -- "Raising the Roof" first ed., pg. 17. "In the early 1920s H.M. Bekken Horseshoeing & General Repairing began. Herman Bekken married Jennie. They had four children: Everett, Howard, Mildred, and Gerald. The Bekken family lived above the blacksmith shop. Herman Bekken was one of three blacksmiths in the area. As a blacksmith he worked on plows, wagons, and mowing machines. He also sharpened plowshares, sickles, and other equipment. Farmers in the area also came to have the horses shod. Herman Bekken retired in 1960. He died on July 4, 1963. Currently the upstairs of the blacksmith shop is used as an apartment for families and owned by Mr. Gerald Bekken, son of Herman Bekken. An addition was put on to the building and used as a garage for families that live in the apartment. Mr. Bekken now uses the original blacksmith shop for storage and restoration. The building sits as a quiet reminder of a simpler time in Douglas, MI." -- https://bekkenblacksmithshopmckenzieandtyler.weebly.com/ Text by Saugatuck Middle School students Mackenzie Barnhill and Tyler Witzell, prior to 2015.

William (Bill) SimmonsCommercial businessesTransportation: horse-powered

Voss, Mary

07/24/2022

05/12/2025