Tag Archives: Philip Simmons

Philip Simmons remembered by Mary Edna

Philip Simmons, whose skill with the hammer and anvil elevated him from a working man to an artisan widely recognized as a national treasure, died Monday night, June 22, 2009. He was 97. The renowned blacksmith passed in his sleep at Bishop Gadsden retirement home, right across the creek from my studio. I rode my […]
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Watch Sparks Fly, Celebration for Mr. Simmons

Mary Edna’s band, Lime and the Coconuts, played for a gathering honoring Philip Simmons, Charleston’s renowned ironworker. Simmons fashioned more than 500 decorative pieces of ornamental wrought iron — gates, fences, balconies and window grills. Mr. Simmons is 97 years old and a unifying force in the community. He taught perseverance and diligence about his […]
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