Happy Memorial Day. While this day is meant to honor our soldiers and all Americans who have died in all of our wars, we do hope you are also having some time to relax too. We thought we’d offer a special Made in America, of one of the most American of items… horseshoes!
So what do tire chains and horseshoes have in common? Well, they are both made of metal… In Worchester, Massachusetts, the St. Pierre family has been forging Authentic Pitching Horseshoes since 1938 and are the only large-scale remaining manufacturer of pitching horseshoes still in the USA. The trademark designed horseshoes are all Made in the USA and forged of solid steel for balance and control, plus the horseshoes are coated with a special non-slip finish that is superior to high gloss finishes and helps prevent chipping and corrosion.
The St. Pierre Chain Corporation was founded in 1920 by Henry St. Pierre who was raised on a Vermont farm and went into business for himself all because he got stuck in the mud. Driving his father’s car to and from the village, Henry would spend hours pushing and hauling through the thick mud. He found an answer to this problem by inventing an improved gripping chain for tires. In 1928, St. Pierre purchased a plant owned by Rogers Drop Forging Company and put the drop forge hammers to work forging and added lines of automotive tools, such as pliers, grease bars and tire irons. During World War II, production was devoted to aircraft parts and anchor chain which received the United States Navy “E” for Excellence. Sometime after the purchase of the forging company, Henry, recalling a favorite Vermont sport of pitching horseshoes, decided to make drop forged horseshoes of standard size, shape and weight. His company became the largest producer of pitching horseshoes in the world, and standardized the game with official horseshoes.
St. Pierre Manufacturing Corporation was created by Henry’s children in 1966 upon his death. They continue still to this day manufacturing chains and wire of all types; distributing chain and wire; manufacturing pitching horseshoes; and manufacturing bocce sets.
There are three different levels of pitching horseshoes manufactured by St. Pierre. The Royal Classic, the American Professional and the American Presidential range in price from $29.99 to $59.99; but they are all fully metal, include everything needed to get a game going and they are all made in America. The differences are in the shape of the horseshoes and type of storage box. I picked up my Royal Classic set at my local Dick’s Sporting Goods which had an entire shelf full of backyard games, but this was the only one made in America. I purchased these so that when we had a backyard BBQ our friends would have something active to do, but I could not justify purchasing any of the other games that Dick’s was selling. Made in China on the 4th of July? I couldn’t do it.