Rural Missouri - July 2023 - 21
Paul visits with his grandson, Anthony, while taking a break at his home in Bunker in this photo taken in 1996. At the time Anthony was 10 but
already showing interest in pursuing gigmaking, a family tradition passed down to Paul from his father, Tucker Martin.
by Jim McCarty
jmccarty@ruralmissouri.coop
T
his story starts in 1996 when
a prolific collector and user
of fish gigs began the quest
to find someone to teach him
how to forge a gig. That done, he
wrote the definitive book on Ozark
gigs and made gigs himself.
It ends with the former apprentice
passing on the craft to five
others - including the grandson
of the master who taught him -
and with the grandson traveling
to Washington, D.C. soon to share
his newfound skills with the rest of
the world at the 2023 Smithsonian
Folklife Festival.
When Ray Joe Hastings began
his quest the tradition of Ozark
gigmaking had just about died out.
He was fortunate to discover Paul
Martin, an aging master blacksmith
living in Bunker.
" I had started collecting gigs and
I went to Van Buren one time and
went to this hardware store and saw
two or three of his gigs there, " Ray
Joe recalls. " I said, 'Would you tell
me who made that?' They said, 'Yeah,
Paul Martin made that.' I asked them
where he lived and they said 'Bunker.'
I didn't let my shirttail touch my
pants till I had a bead on Bunker. "
Ray Joe, an Ozark Border Electric
Co-op member from Doniphan,
found Paul in a small shed behind his
house pounding out his latest gig.
Fish gigs are three- or fourprong
forks made from tough steel
and mounted to a 14- to 16-foot
wooden pole. They are used to stab
rough fish such as suckers in the
clear Ozark streams.
Smaller gigs are also used for
bowfishing, something Ray Joe
remembers from his youth. That's
what he asked Paul to make on his
first visit to his smithy.
" I said I always wanted one of
those little ones with four prongs, "
Ray Joe recalls. " He just grabbed
a piece of steel. He said, 'Here, I'll
make you one.' When he handed
that to me, I'll tell you what, it was
beautiful. "
Paul works on a gig with apprentice Ray Joe Hastings,
right, who woud go on to train five others.
In time Ray Joe asked Paul if
he would teach him to make gigs.
JULY 2023 | RURALMISSOURI.COOP 21
http://www.RURALMISSOURI.COOP
Rural Missouri - July 2023
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Rural Missouri - July 2023
Contents
Rural Missouri - July 2023 - Cover1
Rural Missouri - July 2023 - Cover2
Rural Missouri - July 2023 - Contents
Rural Missouri - July 2023 - 4
Rural Missouri - July 2023 - 5
Rural Missouri - July 2023 - 6
Rural Missouri - July 2023 - 7
Rural Missouri - July 2023 - 8
Rural Missouri - July 2023 - 9
Rural Missouri - July 2023 - 10
Rural Missouri - July 2023 - 11
Rural Missouri - July 2023 - 12
Rural Missouri - July 2023 - 13
Rural Missouri - July 2023 - 14
Rural Missouri - July 2023 - 15
Rural Missouri - July 2023 - 16
Rural Missouri - July 2023 - 17
Rural Missouri - July 2023 - 18
Rural Missouri - July 2023 - 19
Rural Missouri - July 2023 - 20
Rural Missouri - July 2023 - 21
Rural Missouri - July 2023 - 22
Rural Missouri - July 2023 - 23
Rural Missouri - July 2023 - 24
Rural Missouri - July 2023 - 25
Rural Missouri - July 2023 - 26
Rural Missouri - July 2023 - 27
Rural Missouri - July 2023 - 28
Rural Missouri - July 2023 - 29
Rural Missouri - July 2023 - 30
Rural Missouri - July 2023 - 31
Rural Missouri - July 2023 - 32
Rural Missouri - July 2023 - 33
Rural Missouri - July 2023 - 34
Rural Missouri - July 2023 - 35
Rural Missouri - July 2023 - 36
Rural Missouri - July 2023 - 37
Rural Missouri - July 2023 - 38
Rural Missouri - July 2023 - 39
Rural Missouri - July 2023 - 40
Rural Missouri - July 2023 - 41
Rural Missouri - July 2023 - 42
Rural Missouri - July 2023 - 43
Rural Missouri - July 2023 - 44
Rural Missouri - July 2023 - 45
Rural Missouri - July 2023 - 46
Rural Missouri - July 2023 - 47
Rural Missouri - July 2023 - 48
Rural Missouri - July 2023 - 49
Rural Missouri - July 2023 - 50
Rural Missouri - July 2023 - Cover3
Rural Missouri - July 2023 - Cover4
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