‘The Horseshoe Man’
Corporate exec back home creating art in Carmichaels
They call him 鈥淭he Horseshoe Man.鈥�
On a nice day, there he is, at the corner of East South and South Market streets with his safety goggles on, sparks flying as he labors lovingly over a work of art crafted from used horseshoes.
Welding is in his blood: his father, a Lebanese immigrant, was an industrial arts teacher who passed those skills to his son.
But, though born and raised in 鈥淥ld Town,鈥� John Clarchick has not always been a staple of downtown Carmichaels.
After graduating from Carmichaels Area High School in 1981, Clarchick earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Bethany (W.Va.) College and set out into the big, wide world. He spent more than five years working for the National Security Agency; earned two masters degrees from Johns Hopkins University; and held high offices, including vice president and chief operations officer, at multimillion-dollar companies, like Allegheny Teledyne. He鈥檚 dined in Paris, had an address in the Windy City and lived in Mexico City, Clarchick said.
But no matter how far he roamed or what sights rendered him speechless, Carmichaels has always been 鈥渉ome.鈥�
鈥淭his place is still rural hometown,鈥� Clarchick said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 all about integrity and who you are. A lot of my friends鈥� they鈥檙e very much honest, God-fearing, church-going.鈥�
Clarchick remembers fondly his childhood, when he served as an altar boy (he鈥檚 still a practicing Catholic), the King Coal parade dazzled for hours, and the Masontown Pizza Hut was the place to be seen on a Friday night.
鈥淲hen I was about 4 or 5 years old, where the bank is, there was a movie theater, and we saw 鈥楧umbo,'鈥� he recalled. 鈥淚 lifeguarded out, the first year they opened up the swimming pool in Carmichaels. That was a big thing. It was a big thing to drive to Uniontown, to go to J.C. Penny鈥檚. That was before the mall, even. I can remember the first McDonald鈥檚 came into Waynesburg and that was a big thrill.鈥�
One of Clarchick鈥檚 small-town big thrills of adulthood: horseback riding, a hobby he picked up nearly two decades ago. He still sometimes rides, but more often he repurposes used horseshoes into colorful works of art that he sells around the country, including at the local National Pike Days.
Clarchick鈥檚 welding office is the building his grandfather once sold dry goods from.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been in my family since the 1940s,鈥� Clarchick said, with a touch of pride.
The building is, in a way, a microcosm of small-town Americana: In the 鈥�50s, it served as a TV repair shop.
鈥淚n the 鈥�70s, we had a laundromat. And then my parents,鈥� Clarchick said, 鈥渃onverted it to apartments.鈥�
It stood vacant for some time, until Clarchick set up shop inside. He remembers a time when the street he welds along buzzed with the energy of a booming industrial town, back when Carmichaels boasted a population of more than 2,500.
鈥淭hese small towns are shrinking and shrinking. You used to have three bakeries in this town. You used to have several insurance companies. A candy store. A men鈥檚 clothing, a women鈥檚 clothing鈥� You used to have three different pharmacies. And et cetera,鈥� Clarchick said. Now, 鈥減eople go to Uniontown or Waynesburg or Morgantown. If you look at the history of our country, it鈥檚 always been transportation. People came though Rices Landing because of the transportation. You had the roads that got built. You had mom and pop stores, and now you have the giant Walmart, Home Depot, Lowe鈥檚. I see this town being, eventually, a ghost town.鈥�
Perhaps. But until then, Clarchick will haunt the sidewalk outside the building that is his heritage, his inheritance, sparks flying as he takes something old and makes it pretty and new, again.