Blacksmith, entrepreneur and pillar of the community Alpheaus “Artie” Black, who forged a family business that remains in operation today, has died at the age of 89.

Mr Black, who was awarded a Member of the Order of the British Empire in the 2005 Queen’s New Year Honours, was remembered by family as influential and forthright.

“The business was a meeting place for people who would change Bermuda,” his son Gaven Black said. “A lot of people said the country was run from my daddy’s shop. A lot of prominent black politicians and black businessmen would stop by. They would have conversations and heated debate about matters of the day.”

A man of strong work ethics and even stronger opinions, Mr Black didn’t shy from speaking his mind, his son said.

“He was very noted for his ingenuity. If anything had to be done, or if people had debates as to whether something could be done, they could come to consult him. There were a lot of political discussions.”

His son Curtis DeGraff added: “They could get loud. Sometimes you would think there was a fight going on. And if you brought a job here, you had better pray that none of his friends came by.”

Mr Black’s values stemmed from assuming family duties early in life, according to his daughter Avery Emery. He was the eldest of nine children and had to go out to work at the age of 16.

Mr Black ran a barbershop from his back yard in Friswell’s Hill where he acquainted himself with many prominent Bermudians by cutting their hair. He was so successful that clients would wait there for him to return from football.

He played for Pembroke Juniors and was also a keen supporter of Devonshire Recreation Club.

As the breadwinner for a family he readily described as “poor”, Mr Black delivered newspapers as a boy, eventually learning a trade in the Reid Street blacksmith’s shop of Fred Knight.

He had tried for a Dockyard apprenticeship but failed the exam — something he later said he was grateful for, since he would not otherwise have come to own his business.

When Mr Knight’s health declined, Mr Black bought the shop. Two years later he bought the property on King Street, by the junction with Elliott Street, where his business remains.

In 2005, Mr Black told The Mid-Ocean News that while he had never sought political office, he used the premises to encourage debate.

“Rather than get into politics I’d have people over to the shop after closing,” he said. “We’d sit around and talk. The fellows would knock off work and come and talk politics, sports, and everything in between, but that was after working hours.

“I’ll pass my opinion on things, but I’ve never had the desire to get involved politically. To sit around and discuss or debate what the politicians have done — I do that pretty well.”

His daughter remembered him as “a family oriented man who put his children first and foremost”.

Mr Black also served as the first black trustee on the board of the Whitney Institute. Although he had to leave school to work, he took classes with Dr Kenneth Robinson, Ms Emery said, where he was encouraged to study maths, English and music.

Under the tutelage of big band player Ernie Leader, Mr Black learned the saxophone, and earned a good wage performing at the Kindley Air Force Base.

“Although a blacksmith by trade, he worked on family homes, built cabinets, you name it,” said his son Ian Black. “That’s why we’re all handy. But he took no nonsense. He was very disciplined. We wanted Afros and bell bottoms and he wouldn’t let us.”

With his coal-fired furnace and welding equipment, Mr Black made everything from horseshoes and ornamental gates to fire escapes and stonecutting tools, and had a reputation for a keenly mathematical mind.

“I think that’s where I get my stuff from,” Mr DeGraff said. “People would ask if he could do it and he’d just say yes. I don’t know what he hasn’t built.”

The business is now run by his son Lyndon. Mr Black retired at 86, but continued making whatever he needed.

Premier Dunkley extended his condolences to Mr Black’s family: “He was a strong representative of his neighbourhood. He was passionate about helping young men advance in the trades, as well as encouraging economic empowerment within his community.

“He was also an accomplished entertainer and musician, and a testament to that fact was his induction into the Music Hall of Fame,” he said.

A fierce proponent of Bermudians acquiring a trade, Mr Black was determined to instil the same values in his four children.

For a trip overseas in 1967 his children had to wash bottles, cut grass and clean windows to raise money — which Mr Black then put in the bank for them, paying for their tickets himself.

“One thing he was an advocate of was blacks owning their own businesses,” Gaven Black said. “He recognised that as one of the things that would provide economic stability. He was a man that encountered a lot of racial stuff in his day, but he never shared any of his experiences with us until he thought we were old enough to understand.”

Along with his five children, Mr Black is survived by his wife, Muriel Louise Black. A service will be held on Saturday at 2pm in St John’s Church.