BLACKSMITH 91 YEARS OLD.
McCurdy Spends Birthday Working
at the Anvil.
John G. McCurdy, the pioneer blacksmith of Independence, celebrated his 91st birthday yesterday hard at work with his hammer and anvil. Mr. McCurdy spent his early manhood making wagons and doing blacksmith work for the outfitting trade of the Southwest. He has followed his trade ever since and every day finds him at the forge. When the court house was built in Independence in the early days Mr. McCurdy made the nails. His wife died in 1874 and since that time he has been making his home with his daughter, Mrs. Lizzie Powell, 315 North Liberty street, Independence.