OTISFIELD — Otisfield Community School custodian Ryan Adams is an example of Oxford Hills School District staff who are devoted to educating students.

Last year he began teaching students the basics of blacksmithing.

Last fall, he introduced lessons in old-fashioned Yankee ingenuity by designing adaptive tools so some students could fully participate with his classmates.

He custom-crafted a mallet and a pair of tongs for Owen Young, whose right arm extends only a few inches beyond his elbow.

The adaptive equipment project was done over several weeks, with Young giving input on how well the tools worked and other students experiencing the process of engineering and design.

In 2022, Adams observed fifth graders who opted not to participate in musical instrument lessons, leaving them with unstructured time during the week. As a well-known blacksmith in the area, Adams pitched a proposal to Principal Jessika Sheldrick that those not interested in band might want to learn about the work he does outside of school.

Using the traditional means of 2,000-degree flames would be out of the question. But Adams selected a safe alternative for students learning to use forging tools and develop hand-manufacturing skills: plasticine clay that can be fashioned with blacksmithing techniques.

“Plasticine is the same material used for Claymation movies,” Adams said. “It is stiffer than regular clay, (it works) more like the soft metal I use. It gives them a realistic experience. And at the end of the day, the kids can ball it up and we use it to make something else the next week.”

Adams had not expected launching his Fifth Grade Forge class would lead to teaching himself and the students about designing prosthetics.

“When the teacher asked who wanted to participate, Owen’s hand shot up as fast as everyone else’s,” he said. “He is a very capable kid. He does everything, including playing catch with baseball and glove.

“He didn’t give it a thought that he might need two hands to do the activity. And I wasn’t going to leave anyone out who was interested,” Adams said.

Young’s mother, Tania Wiles, concurred, saying her son likes to tinker and loves to fix things.

“Owen is, he’s definitely a man’s boy,” she said. “He is very into building things. He’s into cars, planes, tanks. Anything like metal-working — he likes working on things. Physical challenges don’t slow him down.”

When Adams saw it would be difficult for Young to get the full experience of forging without holding material as he pounded it, he began thinking of how to make it possible.

“The inspiration came from the movie ‘How to Train Your Dragon,’” he said with a laugh. “One of the Viking (characters) in the movie lost a limb to a dragon. He has a prosthetic he can attach and detach.

“I thought it looked possible and worth a try,” he said.

Adams began by designing a prosthetic hammer with a sleeve that fastened to Young’s arm. He tried it out but found it difficult to laterally control as he hammered, and his natural inclination was to use his dominant left hand for pounding.

Next, Adams came up with a set of spring-loaded tongs, which Young had success with. He hammers material with his left hand and holds it steady with the tongs on his right.

“Owen would give me feedback,” Adams said. “And he let me know what wasn’t working properly for him so I could make changes.

“The other kids were extremely excited for him, the fact that he would be able to participate. They loved seeing the progress with each prosthetic. I think they may have been more excited than Owen,” he said.

Wiles said she did not realize how things had progressed with her son’s new prosthetics until about a month ago — apparently to him it was just part of school.

“I was so happy for Owen,” she said. “It brought tears to me eyes. I love that school, they do everything they can for our children. Owen is really excited about blacksmithing, even without using fire. It makes him feel like a big kid.”

The students in the Fifth Grade Forge class have gotten much more than they may have expected when they signed up for blacksmithing with Adams. In addition to learning to pound clay with hammers as an art form, they also have received an introduction to the possibilities a technical education can provide.

“I think they’ve learned the value of patience and paying attention,” Adams said. “And also, of being OK with making mistakes.”

“Forging was more difficult than it looked,” he said. “There are nuances a casual observance doesn’t really see. They have to learn to be patient and stick with it, and that it’s OK to not have it come out perfectly, the way they wanted, the first time.

It has been the same for Adams, who never expected he would learn to design prosthetics.

“It’s been a positive challenge for me,” he said. “I’m glad to have had the opportunity to include Owen. He certainly has benefited from this, as have the other students.”

“We are so grateful and happy that Ryan took the time to do this for him,” Wiles said.

More changes lie ahead for Young, who had never had a prosthetic.

Next month Wiles is taking him to Shriners Children’s New England hospital in Springfield, Massachusetts where he will get his prosthetic arm and hand.

“He has wanted this for a while,” Wiles said. “They will start with an evaluation and there will likely be a few more trips so he can be fitted for it. He is really excited.”

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