MORGAN TOWNSHIP, Ohio — He made a living at it – and appreciates that – Harold Garner said of the blacksmithing business begun by his dad in 1925. On June 30, the old blacksmith shop, land, tools and equipment will be sold at auction.

Until last year Garner, who is 87, worked there every day. It started when his father, Clayton Garner, went to Harrison, Ohio, in 1922 and learned the blacksmithing trade from his uncle. Clayton opened the business three years later at the crossroads of Robinson Road and Hamilton-Scipio Road (State Route 129). He shoed numerous horses and fixed farm equipment.

“I started there when I came back home from World War II, about 1945,” said Harold Garner, a quiet man with a friendly smile, nicknamed “the Whistler.” “The horses were gone. We fixed tractors. This was a farming community.

“Over the years the farmers got their own welders, and I kind of faded out. A lot of time, people came to talk and visit.”

Carl Summe first went to the blacksmith shop 40-some years ago; Clayton was still living at the time. The wind blew through the little wood building that sat 10 feet from the road, Summe said. Over time he and Harold Garner grew to be the best of friends.

“Harold built a new building after his dad died,” Summe said. “He fixed anything and everything for us. The trick with Harold was to go in and say, ‘Harold, I know this can’t be fixed, but I wondered if you would look at it.’ He loved a challenge.

“He was an asset to Morgan and Reily township(s), to the farmers,” he said. “Things were pretty bad in the (19)70s. If you broke down, parts were high. You went there and he got you going. He could make it so it worked.”

And he liked being there, said Garner’s wife, Virginia, 85. The couple has been married for 64 years. “Seems like forever,” she said, adding, “It almost is.”

She told the Hamilton Journal-News, “Harold said he couldn’t get rid of anything because he saw the future in every piece.”

He will miss the business, Garner said, adding, “I’m thankful for it all these years.”

John Anglin and Associates, Auctioneers, will be conducting the auction beginning with personal property at 10:30 a.m., and real estate at noon. Up for auction will be the four-acre corner lot and building, and personal property, which includes hit-and-miss engines.

“I think the hit-and-miss engines will draw the most interest,” said Judy Brewer, with Anglin and Associates. “Some are better than others. I don’t know which will be the star of the show.”

For a complete listing and photos, visit www.auctionzip.com – Auctioneer #1396.