The Evolution of Building Fence
Dad believed in corporal punishment and manual labor, he was also quite the savvy businessman. So when there was undesirable work that needed done on the farm when we were growing up, it would often end up being handed down as the punishment for whatever the most recent infraction was. And trust me, I provided no shortage of opportunities for Dad to capitalize on.
It’s not that I was a “bad kid”, I just took longer than the rest of them to realize there were two very different realities in our house. The very unsupervised, don’t complicate my life and I won’t complicate yours, philosophy that Mom practiced. And the very narrow tolerances that were the backbone of Dad’s parenting style. Dad was gone most of the time during the week so Mom was in charge of us, by default. I was the fourth child born in five years to Len and Nancy Kobelt, so at some point they must have liked each other but that flame blew out before I was old enough to have any memory of them enjoying each other's company. More about them later, where was I? Oh yes, Crime and Punishment, Kobelt style!
We lived on a 40 acre farm in Northern Indiana at the time and there was never a shortage of things that needed to be done. There were always draft horses, riding horses, sheep and chickens and the occasional hog or steer to be fed out and butchered and all these things required fence.
Some fences were permanent and some were built with panels or electric fence. Regardless, it seemed to me that we were always building, repairing or mowing/weedeating under fence.Being the youngest, I’m guessing 9 or 10 years old, I typically got the job of putting clips on ( attaching the wire to the posts), being the go-fer for the bigger kids as they drove in posts or stretched wire, or my very least favorite job when it came to fence maintenance, push mowing under electric fence. I hated that job. If I remember correctly, and I promise you I’ve tried to block it out, it went something like this. Pull the cord on an old push mower a dozen times before it would start( I wasn’t a big kid, I probably stood eye level the handle)so I’m outta breath before I even start mowing. Push the mower like a lineman hitting a tackling sled for 10 feet until it gets bogged down in the tall grass and dies, back the mower up to shorter grass. Pull the cord another 12 times to get it running again and repeat until you’ve mowed to the far side of the farm... and then turn around and mow the other side all the way back.
This was my introduction to building fence.
The summer before my freshman year of High School we moved to Crawford County in Southern Indiana.When we moved, there wasn’t an inch of fence on the new place. 40 acres of rolling pasture with only the brick, ranch style house on it. Dad had scaled back to just the draft horse operation but that still required line fence, a series of division fences to allow for pasture rotation and corrals for the up close and personal work of breaking,weaning and sorting.... Here we go again.
Dad actually hired a good portion of the work out to an Amish outfit but being the shrewd businessman he was he negotiated a discount with the understanding that I would be there to work with them everyday. I learned a few things that summer. The most impactful was that I , at 14, could hold my own with a crew of Amishmen. That felt pretty good and was a much needed shot in the arm, considering that I had a pretty poor view of myself at that age. I learned through the process of Mom and Dad getting divorced EXACTLY what I was worth.( I think that last statement is what is called foreshadowing. We’ll cover that one at a later time.) We would work from sun-up to dark, I’d typically work alone and listen to them chatter back and forth in German, switching to English when they needed to tell me something but for the most part I was in my own world. Working through different scenarios of what the first day in a new school would be like. None of them looked promising, I was a hothead with quick hands and a short temper. I didn’t enjoy school or meeting new people. I did not respect or fear authority. Having Len Kobelt as a Father made teachers, coaches, principals, bullies and even cops all look like Sunday school teachers. My only real motivator to walk the line ( or at least not get caught on the wrong side of it) was I knew I’d have to answer to Dad. Although not much fun at the moment, it turned out to be one of the greatest strengths in my adult life. I can’t say that I’ve ever felt intimidated by anyone.
I always had a pretty vivid imagination but I think that summer was when I really started to get inside my head. If I didn’t like what I had to do ( like build fence) I’d entertain myself to pass the time. Not a make believe world full of unicorns and leprechauns
but time spent filling in the blanks of the “ When I’m old enough to get outta here, I’m gonna___________” conversations. Then work through the details of how to make it happen. That’s a habit I carried with me into my adult life. Physical work has always been where I go when I’m working through stuff. I think, maybe, it’s because when I’m working I feel a greater sense of control. I can affect things ( for better or worse) by my actions, something I didn’t have in other areas of my life. The work is almost a distraction for me so I can kinda “ get out of my own way” and let my brain work on things while my body is busy doing something else.
In fact, “Building fence” was/is code between my wife and I for, (1) I need to be alone and (2) I’ve got some stuff I need to get straight in my mind. When Becky and I joined our families together, 13 years ago, despite all my planning, I built a fair amount of fence ( figuratively speaking). Someday I’ll tell you the story about the argument we had over a single drawer in the kitchen, that lasted several days.... Much fence was built over that drawer.
Fast forward to 2021. My wife and I have just recently purchased 20 acres of land that we’ve been dreaming about for over a decade. It’s a beautiful piece of land that has a ton of potential but it needs some attention in the area of.....yep, you guessed it, FENCE. The fence rows are overgrown in places, a few trees have fallen on the property line fences and we’ll have to build some new fence to section off certain areas for pasture.
I was taking a section of fence down in preparation for building a driveway. Taking clips off, pulling posts, setting new corner posts, stretching wire and yes, even mowing under and along the fence. The only difference is, this time I can’t stop smiling.
I’m literally doing the same chore I despised the most as a kid but this time I can’t get enough of it. I wonder why that is.......
Now before you pick the low hanging fruit and say things like, “ this time it was your choice and not a punishment.” or “ It’s different because it’s YOUR fence this time.” Let me offer you an alternate explanation.
It’s not that building fence has gotten easier. Sure, I’m bigger and stronger than I was the first time and I’ve acquired skills that make the process more efficient. But it’s still hot out there and I still typically work alone, posts drive as hard as they ever did and my body reminds me on a daily basis that I’m not 20 years old anymore....or 30......or 40...... So why the smile?
What if building fence has always been this fun and I just couldn’t get out of my own way to see it? I wonder how many wonderful experiences I’ve had in my life that I chose to see as an inconvenience or as “ something I have to do”?
It’s probably not realistic to think that a 10 years old is going to have the foresight to see manual labor as a foundational building block for who he will become in 30 years. But if I can look back and realize it now, wouldn’t it hold true that the fence I build today will have an impact on who I am 30 years from now?
Maybe that’s what people mean when they talk about being present. Requiring yourself to give 100% of your attention to a single moment in time, with the only requirement being that you find the very best that moment has to give you.
Even while building fence.