Mike Walsh standing at the anvil in his blacksmith shop. Ferrier equipment, horseshoes visible in foreground and hanging from the rafters.
"Saturday afternnon Mike Walsh and his son, Billy, stopped in town a short while, during which Mike visited with a number of old friends, among them the editor and Dr. Hotopp. Mike was eighty-six years of age a few days ago, and a number of his close friends threw a party in his honor on the occasion. More than fifty-two of those years have been spent in Eagle county. He came to Battle Mountain from Leadville in 1882 and started shoeing horses and is still following the trade. If hard work would kill a healthy man, Mike would have been dead long, long ago. But he has thrived and reached a ripe age, working hard, not eight hours a day, but from before daybreak until after dark. When we used to live in Red Cliff Mr. Walsh's anvil chorus was our alarm clock and signal to get out of bed in the morning. It was a rare occasion that he was not hammering away at from between 5:30 and 6:00 o'clock."--EVE Dec. 14, 1934.
