The Good Life – January-February 2021

were just finishing their careers in
those shops. I was very fortunate
that I took the time back then to find
these people and visit with them; it
gave me a good feeling of what shops
were like, what equipment they used,
how they worked, and the type of
work they did."
He has a shop on his farm that
recreates the 1895-1910 era of
blacksmithing.
"It is geared towards what you
would have seen in most of the small
rural community blacksmith shops
around the turn of the century,"
stated Swenson. "I chose that period
because here, in the Red River Valley,
14 / THE GOOD LIFE / urbantoadmedia.com
that was a time of very rapid growth
and expansion."
His shop is set up so all of the tools
and equipment are from that period
that he has collected and he tries to
use the same type of work methods
that they would have 100 years ago.
"It has always had kind of a special
feeling to me, that period of time,"
noted Swenson.
Fortunately, Swenson's passion
has provided for him and his family
financially as well.
"The majority of my time in the
past two years, as far as the shop is
concerned, has been spent teaching
classes," stated Swenson. "I teach
classes out of my shop directly;
currently I have 8 individuals who
come out for private instructions."
Setting up an appointment for
private classes is very simple; you
can contact Swenson through his
Facebook page, Goose Prairie Forge.
He is very flexible when it comes
to scheduling time to visit his shop;
whether it is during the week or on
the weekend he can find a time that
works best for your schedule.
Don't think that this is all that
Swenson does when it comes to
blacksmithing. Currently, he is