Two men stand on the first car of the train: one waves, the other holds a shovel. Black steam billows out of the engine in a spiraling gray cloud. The second car, securely hinged to the first, carries blocks and blocks of hard black coal. Against a copper background, the name PETRIE is written in large silver letters. Apart from the engine, the entire train — wheels, hinges, and clasps — functions. About a yard long and just under a foot high, every centimeter of the train is doused in thoughtfulness, love, and sincerity, and it’s formed entirely from wire.
Hillsdale College Custodian Pam Petrie spent six months making the train as a Christmas present for her father-in-law, a retired cotton rail conductor, and he received it with tears. It was a gift meant to be as special as Petrie’s father-in-law is to her.
“There’s blood, sweat, and tears in [my creations],” Petrie said. “I get blisters in my hands from straightening out my wire. I’ve cut myself with tools. It’s a dangerous job: I’ve almost put my husband’s eye out from pulling on a piece of wire. But it’s still amazing what the results are, and it’s worth every blood drop and tear and every blister — every bit worth the time.”
Petrie first began crafting wire in 2004. Working as a drywall sander, Petrie sat waiting for the drywall mud on the walls to dry so that she could sand and paint them. She absent-mindedly snagged a nearby piece of colorful, plastic-covered scrap wire and began forming it into flowers. The hobby stuck enough that Petrie asked her boss if she could take some extra wire home for doodling, and she’s been crafting ever since.
In 2009, Petrie started working the night shift at Hillsdale College as a custodian, where she and then-custodian Lori Kirby immediately clicked. With children the same ages and a shared affinity for animals, Petrie and Kirby became fast friends, even after they were no longer working together. Now in library acquisitions, Kirby was possibly the first person to receive a wire-crafted gift from Petrie: a flower. Kirby now has that flower and many others from Petrie in a vase on her desk.
“I’ve seen blisters on her hands, but she loves doing it,” Kirby said. “She’s very caring, very kind, very humble. Would do anything for anybody. I’ve been in tough situations and I know I can call on her. You couldn’t ask for a better best friend.”
Ever since Petrie found out that Kirby’s father is suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, she asks Kirby about her father every day.
Petrie’s first big project, however, was for her son-in-law. When he told her he wanted a wire dragon for his birthday, she prepared for the challenge.
“I just made the head of it, but the shadow of it looked like it was a raptor and it would have just jumped right off the wall and ate you,” Petrie said.
Petrie has made 25th anniversary wedding bells, headbands for her daughter’s bridesmaids, a giant lion head, and more, but her favorite gift was the train for her father-in-law.
For half a year, Petrie twisted, braided, and sewed wire together — sometimes for as long as eight hours a day — to build the train. Though she ran out of the free wire from her boss, she bought a partial spool of wire from an electrician friend for only $300, and she hasn’t run out since.
Most of the wire she uses arrives covered in plastic, so she first strips it down to twisted copper wire underneath. Petrie untwists the wire to separate it into thin, individual wires before twisting two back together again. In the past, she twisted all wires by hand, an arduous task that took hours just to complete one. One day, she realized she could use a drill to complete several hours of work in just two minutes, and she embarked on her next project with enthusiasm.
Even with the drill, however, Petrie’s projects were still incredibly time-consuming. It was her husband who had the idea to sew the pieces together rather than twisting them. The sewn wires covered much more space, allowing Petrie to build larger portions in a smaller period of time. Still, she must first make the frame, then sew the seamless piece of braided wire through it, and even very small projects take hours, days, or weeks of her time.
Petrie often has multiple projects going on to allow her a break from some of the bigger ones.
“I would get frustrated with the train because I would work on it eight hours and get nothing done, so I’d start working on my hens,” Petrie said. She finished the hens for her mother-in-law around the same time she finished the train. Next, she hopes to construct a large Charger horse for the college. She’s given all of her creations away for free so far, but said she hopes to begin taking orders.
Though she devotes hours and hours of time to her wire projects each week, Petrie also finds time to create giant vases out of special rocks, to work in the Dow Leadership Center, and to form relationships with the girls in Olds Residence. Petrie made a birdhouse (complete with a bird) and a cross for the Olds Housedirector Linda Gravel “Mama G.,” and over Christmas, she made a sign saying “Olds” for all the girls in the dormitory.
“She’s very good to the girls, and very kind and understanding,” Gravel said. “She worries about the girls if they’re sick. Right now, she’s worried about the mold we might have in one room. She brought plants in for this courtyard. She just all-around cares about Olds and the girls.”
Though Petrie works more on the lower floor of Olds, Gravel said her extroverted personality befriends all of the girls.
“Pam’s all over, she knows everybody,” Gravel said. “I just want to thank her for her good work and her loving spirit in Olds.”
