Eddy Hulbert:

Blacksmith at Hillsboro

Eddy Hulbert, orphaned by age 12, saw one of Doc Barry’s ads advertising a place that unaccompanied boys could come and stay.  With the help of his Great Aunt, Eddy Hulbert made it to Kane Wyoming were the Barry’s picked him up.  Mrs. Barry, after hearing of the boy’s troubles from friends’ back east, immediately took the boy under her wing. 

Amazing Talent

It is thought that Eddy’s Aunt paid his way at the ranch for a while, but Eddy was soon making his own way.  He seemed to have a knack for fixing things and could just look at a horses hoof and make a horseshoe that fit it perfectly with out any measurements.  Eddy did blacksmithing for the ranchas well as his neighbors on the Dryhead.

No one knows for sure when or how Eddy learned the art of silversmithing.  He occasionally went to visit an Uncle in Denver who some think, learned the craft in a prison down there.  A how to book was also found among Eddy’s possessions at the time of his death.  It does not matter how he learned the craft, but that he was considered very good at it.  His work was sold at several different guest ranches, displayed in local stores, auctioned at the Medicine Wheel Bar in Lovell, and sold in catalogs.  He also made many belt buckles as prizes for local Rodeos.

A Dedicated Life

People remember hearing the pinging and panging from Eddy’s shop as he worked on wagon wheels and silver, but you can bet his duties were not isolated to that shop.   Like any job, he had other responsibilities at Hillsboro.  He helped with the livestock and haying on the ranch.  The Stud Barns and Corral is where Doc Barry kept his Stallions.  Eddy kept the horses fed, the fences mended, and horses shod.

Eddy lived at Hillsboro for most of his life.  One July day in 1960 he was found slouched over his workbench, probably from a heart attack.    His wife, with help from a neighbor, put him in their jeep and started the 2 hour trip to Lovell.  He died on the way.