[TheForge] ABANA Election Results

Tue Oct 5 09:09:54 EDT 2004

Dave, Ralph, and all,

          I did vote as well........and I didnt' need the tongs.   :-)

        Having worked with Eric Lander and getting to know him much better
this conference.......it made me want to send in my endorsement for him.

        When you mentioned needs it made me think  -  What are my needs?  I
wish I actually knew..............
     I never realized how much and many there were until I actually saw some
of them.

      Working with Dave Mudge at the last two conferences lends itself to
me being aware I should vote for him as a director of ABANA as long as he's
willing to do so.

        Yes, volunteering is a lot of work, no, it's not for some folks, but
I can't
explain the benefits of working on something strictly for the educational
experience of being part of a cracker jack crew just for the hell of it.
        Some may not look at the ABANA board as a crackerjack crew, but with
volunteers you get what you get, and I've learned to look at what folks
really have to offer in a positive sense - instead of how annoying they
might be for a fleeting
moment........most folks actually have some goodness to them - but it might
not be where you'd expect it to come from, is what I've found to be true.

        If I sat back and watched things happen, I might see people busy at
setting up a conference and admit it's hard work and say.......I've got
better things to do, I can pay my entrance fee and just watch.

        On the other hand, getting involved with a crew that you could not
possibly hire for any amount of money in your life time - of some of the
best
volunteers/workers/talented craftsmen and clever people I've ever dealt
with, I can not explain
the enjoyment and comradery experienced in doing a monumental task with a
crew where no one complains, no one slacks off, no one bitches about the
other guy, no one slides to the side due to inexperience just to get out of
something.  It is very different when you take money out of the equaiton.
        Heading the set up crew in Kentucky I was faced with the task of
never being allowed to finish anything(that was very different for me)
.........as someone would come up to
me and say "Ralph, I can handle that........why don't you work on the next
thing".  Then we'd have a situation that needed a solution to head in a
direction for completing the work in Kentucky and in LaCross,
I had to actually flip a coin on occassion to select the best of the two
solutions from the crew to
decide on which way to go!!!............if we all had that cooperation,
talent, and experience to deal with every day, I can only imagine what a
work
site or shop would be like......or could become.
        I made some unbelievable contacts, shared some wonderful ideas, and
learned far more - by being in the middle of it, rather than sitting in the
audience and knowing it was being done around me.........by folks I didn't
have a clue as to who they were, what they'd done, or how much they could
teach me.

        I guess my point is more........"I never really knew what my needs
were until they smaked me up side my head".

         I would not have gained 10 years
die making experience from Bob Bergman had I not gone to help him set up
LaCrosse.  I was puzzled over how to cut dovetails as a new machinist - and
when I left his shop, I had more jig and fixture ideas on how to just drop
em in and cut.........than I ever knew exhisted.  Totally unaware of what I
needed to learn.
        When I worked with guys like Monty Bygd, Dick Carlson, Charlie
Bateman, Roger Degner, Bill (the Welder) Krawczeski, Kevin Donahoe, Jim
Fecteau, Steve Parker, Mark Gardner, Keane Paradiso, Myron Hanson, Pat
McCarty, Kim Saliba, David Hufford, Dave Mudge, Dave Koenig, Terry Carson,
Jerry Culberson, Paul Moffet, Kate Dineen, Tracey McCarty, Wayne Coe, Jim
Pigot, David Bernard, Don Kemper, Jerry Kagele, Lou Raffloer, Meagan
Crowley, Chris Winterstein, Ruben Funk, Dan Nauman, Lee Ann Mitchell, Will
Hightower, Bob & Mary Fredell, Murray Lowe, Dorothy Stiegler, Erik Lander,
Jim Guy, Elizabeth Brim, and Larry Zoeller,  I never knew them as much more
than an e-mail address or a name in a magazine on occassion.  To actually
work with this group, to have them help me thru situations I hadn't dealt
with before, to assist me in the aquisition of materials, to stick with me
in the heat and humidity of the deadline approaching........sure gave me a
new found respect for each and every one of them!  All I can say is Thanks
to have meet and worked with them.
        Since the conference, the communications have been many. Just this
week, I got three letters in the mail from some of these people telling me
how the John Deere plow making event went.......with a T-shirt and pictures
from a local paper, and manual's on Nazel 3B foundations, Nazel Parts and
schematic catalogs, pictures of their current work, a list of jokes I might
enjoy...............all I can say is I never realized how much a national
network of fellow metalworkers was on my list of "things I couldn't do
without in life".  I really enjoy hearing what folks are up to, what they
are making, what they are involved in. Once you share a task with a steep
deadline with someone and come out ahead of it........you make friends that
will last a lifetime.
        Thanks ABANA and all those great folks I worked with, for allowing
me to meet all these great people and having them more than willing to share
pictures, knowledge, experiences, and work and design ideas with me for the
rest of my life.

Ralph Sproul

----- Original Message -----
From: "Dave Mudge" <dave at magichammer.net>
To: "Sponsored by ABANA" <theforge at mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Monday, October 04, 2004 3:01 PM
Subject: Re: [TheForge] ABANA Election Results

> Thanks for your support Ries. You should run for the board.
>
> And Ralph, I don't recall getting any correspondence from you
> discussing your problem. Please tell me now what are your needs
> & wants that are not being addressed by the two magazines?
> "Maybe" we can do something about it. I am sure that others
> share the same issues that guided your decision.As Member
> Services Director, I am probably the guy to talk to about it.
>
> As far as being able to afford to be a board member,
> it cost me a lot more time than money and I haven't much of either.
> Serving on the board is one of those things that is a 'labor of love'.
> For me, the rewards are long hours of hard work and catching a
>  lot of grief from some people. There is "0" financial gain involved.
> I get a free trip to the board meeting once every other year, a free
> room to share with another board member and one meal. That
> is 'one' meal (period) not one per day. 3 days of work, not sight
> seeing. I get free admission to the conference every other year,
> which is more work than you can imagine. I do enjoy being in a
> place where I might be able to help other blacksmiths by
> disseminating information. Web Sites, magazines, e-mail lists.
> I am happy to be able to do some part in making ABANA run
> a litttle smoother and serve even more people. I pay $45 a year
> to be able to do this.
> dave mudge
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Ries Niemi" <rniemi at fidalgo.net>
> To: "Sponsored by ABANA" <theforge at mailman.qth.net>
> Sent: Monday, October 04, 2004 12:40 PM
> Subject: Re: [TheForge] ABANA Election Results
>
>
> > >
> > > Well I am an ex-member so this may not count. But perhaps folks do not
> > > vote
> > > as they do not see any value added? Perhaps they do not run as they
> > > can not
> > > financially afford to be a board member.
> > > I personally let my membership lapse as I no longer felt that either
> > > publication addressed any of my needs or wants. And yes I did contact
> > > the
> > > editor and the board about this. But never even recieved a reply.
> > >
> > > But that is just my 2 cents worth
> > >
> > > Ralph
> > >
> > >
> >
> > Ralph- I am not jumping on you- I have read enough of your posts to
> > respect your abilities and opinions.
> > But I gotta respond-
> > "value added"?
> >
> > There are lots of things in my life I do because of money.
> > But not everything. My feeling about Abana, and other similar
> > organisations that I belong to, is that it is not about money, or value
> > to me. It is about community, about learning, about keeping skills
> > alive, and helping others come aboard.
> > When I go to a NWBA meeting, or an ABANA conference, I dont agree with
> > everybody- in my case, I am more interested in big iron, ornamental,
> > sculpture and art- so I seldom watch the demos on knifemaking, or heat
> > treating tools.
> > But I dont begrudge in the slightest the time and money spent on those
> > subjects that I am not paying attention to.
> > It all adds to the knowledge base, it all helps me in a hundred
> > intangible ways.
> > The fact that we live in a time when so many talented people have the
> > luxury to pursue their individual madnesses is something I love.
> > The technical advancements we have seen in blacksmithing in the last 25
> > years are incredible. There are people working today who know more than
> > any blacksmith ever before. And the single thing we lack- which is the
> > hand control you derive from a lifetime of repetitive work- well, there
> > are a few guys around who have that as well.
> > Abana helps me, and you, in ways you dont even see.
> > Sure, there are politics, and decisions are made you dont agree with.
> > But that happens any time two people get together, much less 5000.
> >
> > Nobody says you have to join, or pay for it.
> >
> > But for me, anyway, the magazine is worth the admission price, and
> > anything else I get is gravy. And even if I dont get anything, SOMEBODY
> > is benefitting from it. So I gladly belong to this, and other groups,
> > that encourage metalworking.
> >
> > ries
> >
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