Lowcountry Blacksmith Honored for Lifetime Work
posted 01/05/09
7:05 pm
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Charleston, SC -
Philip Simmons designed gates, signs and decorative iron pieces for more than 80 years of his life. He tried to work for a blacksmith before he was even a teenager, but ran into a road block.
“I was too young,” said Simmons. So he waited until he was 13 and became an apprentice helping with projects.
“Gates, fences, and outdoor furniture,” said Philips when asked about some of the tasks he helped with.
After spending years as an apprentice repairing gates, Simmons got his first request to create one in the late 1940s. He was apprehensive about taking the job, but took it, and the gate still stands on King Street currently. This job was first of many in Simmons’ lengthy career.
“It was a surprise to me when I got the job. I didn’t know I could do it,” explained Simmons.
After making that gate, Simmons went on to produce hundreds of iron pieces for homes and businesses in the Lowcountry.
His gates are can be found at the state court house and the Smithsonian Institution. He also has received the Order of the Palmetto from the governor in 1994 and National Heritage Fellowship.
Simmons kept the business in his family and passed his expertise down to his nephew and cousin.
“He'll come down and sit in the chair and watch me. And I’ll say, Phillip, I can’t get this thing to go right. He’ll say have you tried this or that and I'll try it and that’s what it took,” explained Ronnie Pringle, Simmons’ cousin.
Simmons lifetime achievements leave him feeling proud of his lasting legacy.
“It makes me feel like I have accomplished something and passed a trade onto somebody,” said Simmons.
Simmons’ former home will be turned into a museum by the end of the month by the Philip Simmons Foundation. If you would like to donate to the foundation go to their website at: http://www.philipsimmons.us/index2.html.
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