Apprentice Kong Mong Yang and master blacksmith Tong Khai Vang at the shop in La Crosse.
In the back of the Hmoob Cultural and Community Agency in La Crosse, there’s a blacksmith shop where people can learn an historic craft. It’s here that master blacksmith Tong Khai Vang teaches apprentice Kong Mong Yang how to melt metal, pound it out into hot, glowing orange strips, and create traditional knives.
(This story originally aired May 29, 2013)
Maureen McCollum is the host and producer for “Wisconsin Life” on Wisconsin Public Radio and the “WPR Reports: Uprooted” podcast. Her work has appeared on NPR and has been honored with national and regional awards. She loves live music, the bluffs along the Mississippi River and eating too much cheese.
