Images of Mohawk Ironworkers Displayed in Delray Beach Exhibition
by Lori J. Durante

1/26/2005

Delray Beach, Florida--Standing hundreds of feet above the ground on the frames
of New York City skyscrapers is not the easiest way to make a living. Mohawk Indian ironworkers say that “walking iron” gives them great pride. These ironworkers share their stories of strength in a new Smithsonian traveling exhibition. Booming Out: Mohawk Ironworkers Build New York opened on December 16, 2004 at the Museum of Lifestyle & Fashion History in Delray Beach, Florida and the Smithsonian Institution has extended its display at this museum until March 13, 2005.

The Museum of Lifestyle & Fashion History had a special visit to the exhibit by
retired Mohawk Native Americans ironworkers, Frank “Randy” Kanerahtiio Goodleaf and his brother James Goodleaf who both live in the Mowhawk Native American reservation Kahnawake in Quebec, Canada but they also have vacation homes in Delray Beach and Boynton Beach, Florida, respectively. Randy Goodleaf was an ironworker from 1957-1970 and work on construction projects, such as Madison Square Gardens in New York City; Fall River Bridge in Fall River, Massachusetts; State Building in Albany, New York; the Federal Building in Cleveland, Ohio and the Interstate 787 Bridge in Troy, New York. James Goodleaf was an ironworker from 1968-1979 and worked on projects such as Rikers Prison in Rikers Island, New York; the Central Post Office in Craig County, Montreal and the 1976 Olympics in Montreal, Canada, to name a few. The Goodleafs’ brothers’ family is documented in this photo exhibit as their grandfather, also named James Goodleaf, was one of the ironworkers killed while working on the Quebec Bridge in Canada on August 29, 1907. His photo appears in the exhibit as one of 33 Kahnawake Mowhawk Native Americans who lost their lives in that tragic accident.

Another retired Mohawk ironworker that visited this exhibit at the Museum of Lifestyle & Fashion History was Joseph Patton. He worked on projects such as the World Trade Center (up to the 16th floor). A photo of his nephew and
grandnephew, J.R. Phillips and Shale Phillips, appears in the exhibit. James Patton also resides, part-time, in Delray Beach, Florida. Randy Goodleaf, James Goodleaf and Joseph Patton will be special guests at an Open House reception that the museum will be hosting on Friday evening, March 11, 2005.

The local presentation of this exhibit is being sponsored by A.M. Davis Mercantile and Palm Beach County Commissioner Addie L. Greene who recently awarded a $10,000 grant to the Museum of Lifestyle & Fashion History for its numerous exhibits and programs for 2004-2005.

Booming Out was developed by the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian’s George Heye Center and organized for travel by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES). The exhibition, its national tour and related programs, are made possible by the AMB Foundation. “The Mohawk Indians have an inspiring and important story that the National Museum of the American Indian is proud to be a part of,” says W. Richard West (Southern Cheyenne), director of the National Museum of the American Indian.

Mohawk ironworkers have been “booming out” for six generations. “Booming out” is a Mohawk expression used to describe the urban migration of the Mohawk ironworkers as they leave their native communities in New York State, Ontario, Quebec and Montreal in search of work. One of the earliest projects the Mohawks completed was a bridge over the St. Lawrence River, between Canada and Mohawk land in New York State. The Mohawks have constructed portions of the Empire State Building, the Chrysler Building, the George Washington Bridge and the World Trade Center in New York City. Mohawks on the West Coast in the 1930s constructed the San Francisco Bay Bridge.

Booming Out contains black-and-white and color photographs and photo-murals featuring Mohawk Indians “walking iron.” Many of these photographs were taken by the ironworkers themselves. The exhibit also includes a sculpture created by Darryl Pronovost (Mohawk) using metal recovered from the ruins of the World Trade Center during the clean-up at Ground Zero. Kyle Karonhiaktatie Beauvais, a Mohawk ironworker, says, “A lot of people think Mohawks aren’t afraid of heights; that’s not true. We have as much fear as the next guy. The difference is that we deal with it better. We also have the experience of old timers to follow and the responsibility to lead the younger guys. There’s pride in walking iron.”

The Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian is an institution of living cultures dedicated to the preservation, study and exhibition of the life, languages, literature, history and arts of the Native peoples of the Western hemisphere.

Established in 1999, The Museum of Lifestyle & Fashion History (MLFH) is a non-profit 501 (c) 3 cultural organization with its own Board of Trustees, Foundation Board and Advisory Board. The museum offers retrospective and anthropology exhibits showcasing lifestyle, history, cultures, people, places, fashion trends, architecture, furnishings, locomotives and toys, and information about popular uses of artifacts by people/events of the periods of time.

The Museum of Lifestyle & Fashion History opened in an 8,000 square feet facility in October 2003 in the City of Delray Beach, Florida and premiered the Smithsonian Institution traveling exhibition: Antoin Sevruguin and the Persian Image . The museum's beginnings are very humble and its home is located in the former McCrory store space which was a five & dime store located in Delray Beach since the 1960's. This storefront space is located in the Pineapple Grove Shops plaza and was donated rent-free to the museum by the owner of the plaza, A.M. Davis Mercantile of Lincoln, Nebraska.

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