The Villages - June 2021 - 32

{ FOR THE
OF A RT }
REG DODRILL
A Docent Blacksmith
Played with Fire
STORY BY RICA KEENUM | PHOTOS BY ROB WILKERSON
After retiring from the U.S Air Force and a career in law enforcement, California native
Reg Dodrill put a new iron in the fire. He became a blacksmith.
In 1993 he was a tourist at Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park, watching a
man shape the heated metal and then place it back on the flame. Each movement was a
quick, intentional step in the process, a strike while the iron was hot. Reg was mesmerized
by the action - the pounding, bending, smoothing, twisting, and the spray of fire like a
sparkler on the Fourth of July. In the skilled hands of a blacksmith, hot metal is pliable
and molded as simply as clay. Reg inquired about the role, then began his education.
" I had a wonderful teacher - a guy named Bill Curry who wired spaceships
in his earlier career. He was a talented guy and I know a very small amount of what
he knows. "
As the longest serving volunteer, Reg spent nearly 25 years and 5,000
hours on the job after learning the specifics of the craft.
" I was a docent, and I made tons of items for sale in the state park
store, " he said. " We made or restored ironwork for the state and took
special requests from residents. "
The park featured buildings that survived from the Gold Rush era,
exhibits and Native American history, as well as cultural and agricultural
displays and information on early mining techniques. Hundreds of
thousands of students toured the park every year on field
trips, where Reg demonstrated the art of blacksmithing.
Kids could even learn to pan for gold.
" Some of the kids were really interested, and
they asked tons of questions. Other's stood there
chatting with each other and not paying attention, "
he said, laughing.
I was a docent,
and I made tons of
items for sale in the
state park store. We
made or restored
ironwork for the
state and took
special requests
from residents.
- Reg Dodrill
32
JUNE 2021
Love

The Villages - June 2021

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