Ironworkers Gather in Akwesasne to Show Off Skills

The 2014 Ironworkers Festival held its 12th annual event at the Akwesasne Mohawk Casino and Resort on Saturday, July 19th. It attracted Ironworkers from the United States and Canada who came together to share memories and celebrate the proud trade of Ironworking with friendly competition. The crowned Ultimate Ironworker not only gets bragging rights, but also $1000.00. The event was open to the general public, although only Ironworkers and retirees could compete in the skilled events. These events included knot tying, rod tying, rivet toss, spud wrench throw, beam walk, a rivet exhibition and the highlight of the competition, the column climb.

Open activities included a women's packing competition, as many women pack for their husbands to send them off for the week, a watermelon eating contest and a contest to find the best tasting chicken wing in the area. There were many local vendors selling food, drinks, crafts and memorabilia. Brian 'The Blues Man' Garrow provided the live entertainment. There was also a contest for the best logo that was used on the 2014 tee shirts. The money collected from the sales of the tee shirts and registration fees is put into a benefit fund for disabled and injured ironworkers in Local 440.

This event brought Ironworkers from Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Syracuse, Rochester, New York City, Albany, New Jersey, Indiana, West Virginia, Michigan and Florida. "It's a brotherhood and a chance to see each other again," said retiree, Bernie Nobel. He is 82 years young and still loves to compete. Up until this year he competed in the column climb but he has been diagnosed with cancer of his left lung and cannot climb this year. This did not dampen his spirit. "I love this competition and being around other Ironworkers, it's so much fun. It makes the younger fellas try a lot harder to beat the old man," chuckled Mr. Nobel.

Mr. Benjamin Herne, Akwesasne Mohawk Casino Resort Public Relations Manager, opened the festivities by welcoming everyone and going through the events of the day. He also introduced the organizers, Mike Swamp, retired Local 440, Bill Sears, Local 440, new Business Agent, Tom Thomas, and Tribal Chief Ron LaFrance. Each welcomed all the Ironworkers and wished them "good luck, be safe and thank you for coming." Chief LaFrance also talked about a newly minted U.S. coin that is dedicated to the Mohawk Ironworker. The coin design should be approved by the final committee in September and the sculpting of the coin should take about six weeks from there. The coin circulation could begin around November or December.

Darlene Dilcox, a festival organizer and Director of Casino Services, read "roll call" of all the members of Local 440 who have passed away in the last year. The list included Arthur Bova, Howard David, Andrew 'Andy' White, John Oakes, Michael Sunday and Teddy Mitchell. Ms. Dilcox asked for a moment of silence for the deceased members.

The Ironworkers Festival did not start in Akwesasne but it has been here for 11 of the twelve years. "It was originally hosted by the Oneida Nation but it was not a popular event there since the Ironworker tradition started here in Akwesasne and in Kahnawake," stated Mike Swamp, who retired four years ago after 38 years of being active. "It only makes sense that this event should be here. We are trying to keep up tradition and what Ironworking is all about. We have made a game out of what we do on the job. We even do some events that are obsolete like the rivets. They were used back in the 50s and 60s and are now obsolete. The old timers remember and it was brought back as part of the competition."

Bill Sears has been a proud Mohawk Ironworker for 48 years. "I'll be doing this until they put me in the ground," said Mr. Sears with a smile. He told of some of the differences from when he started to now. "Everything is pro safety these days, which is good. We use to cut our safety in order to add another bolt bag. No one ever tied off and we would ride the main load ball down. We did things that would kill you. Safety is much better these days to save lives, backs and legs. For a while, back in the 80s, interest in ironworking went down and we lost a generation of ironworkers. Slowly the interest is coming back. Jr. Ransom and Mike Swamp do a good job getting young guys into the apprenticeship. There is definitely a need for Ironworkers."

There was a large group of competitors from Philadelphia, PA, Local 401 that came out on top in many of the various events, but there were also some champions from Akwesasne. Tim Rourke took first place in the Bolt Toss and Rod Tying as well as third place in the Spud Wrench Throw. Mr. Rouke's daughter, Jacey Rourke, was all smiles when her father won as she said, "That's my father, I'm so proud." Owen Swamp took a third place spot in Rod Tying as well as first place in the Rivet Exhibition where he was teamed up with his father, Mike Swamp. A festival record was broken in the Column Climb when Dan Hoban from Local 401, Pennsylvania, scaled the 35 feet of steel in an astounding 4.9 seconds. Chantelle Cooke, Bussing Coordinator for the Akwesasne Mohawk Casino, was allowed to try the Column Climb on an exhibition basis and became the first female to ring the bell at the top of the column.

The list of winners is as follows:

Beam Walk

1st-Henry Burk

2nd-Dan Hoban

3rd-Rob Sweeney

Rod Tying

1st- Tim Rourke

2nd-Larry Roughton

3rd –Owen Swamp

Bolt Toss

1st- Tim Rourke

2nd-Dan Hoban

3rd-Chris Prophet

Spud Wrench Throw

1st- Chris Prophet

2nd-Larry Roughton

3rd- Tim Rourke

Knot Tying

1st- Chris Prophet

2nd-Rob Sweeney

3rd- Devis Caceres

Rivet Exhibition

1st- Mike/Owen Swamp

2nd Henry Burk/Dan Hoban

3rd- Rob Sweeney/Chris Prophet

Column Climb

1st- Dan Hoban

2nd- Matt Hlywiak

3rd- Chris Prophet

Ultimate Retiree

Dennis Milton

Ultimate Ironworker

Chris Prophet

Women's Packing

Charlene 'Girly' Thompson

Watermelon Eating

William Strable

Best Chicken Wings

Atomic Place

T-Shirt Design Winner

Joe King

Mr. Sears wrapped up the day by saying, "Today we met new friends, got re-acquainted with old ones and look forward to next year."