Mending Fences With Dad

As a very young person I lived on the edge of town. In fact we were the last house on Vickers Lane. Our home did dot have a number at that time but progress changed that. We lived in a home that was built by Dad with a little help from family and friends. On our lot Dad began improvements and after some time developed the property where we had a great potato field, kitchen garden and fruit trees. Red currents, cherry tees, plum and apple surrounded our home.

In our end of town there were more horses than cars at the time and we were no exception. Dad had a contract to haul coal to ward iv and horses became a necessity. A barn was built and stables installed and than came the cow, geese  and chickens. More land was needed so Dad managed to use about 10 acers across the road from our home. Great grass for the animals to graze and even a small pond for the geese.

This land had to be fenced. It was a yearly task to repair the fence line partially destroyed during the winter by skaters and hockey players using the frozen pond and having fires during the evenings.The problem was that as wood for the fires was scarce the fence poles were used and had to be replaced nearly every year.

A larger piece of land was made available adjacent to our lot so Dad claimed ownership. More fencing.During the winter Dad would go down to the woods and cut fence poles to be used in spring. We just took for granted that this task was a yearly event.

As a youngster I watched Dad make his own mall out of wood. A large piece of hardwood made the head of the mall and a steel pipe was used as a handle. Since all the poles had to be driven into the hard ground the poles had to be sharpened. Dad used a ax with skill and made perfect points on each pole.

It was a difficult and time consuming job and as a helper it seemed dangerous. My father was very strong and demanding of his helpers. We as a helper had to hold the fence pole straight and quiet as Dad wound up with his large wooden mall and brought it down squarely on the top of the pole and driving it down into the ground. Pole after pole and Dad never seemed to be tired. With the initial hits on the pole I used to close my eyes until I built up confidence in my Dad's ability to never miss.

Sometimes the pole would hit a rock and the pole would only be driven in a short distance. Dad fixed this with another wire to give it stability. We used to acquire perfect wire from the railway cars that used the wire in stabilizing loads on train cars. It was scrap to them but useful for us.

After all the poles were pounded in the next step was to string the wire. Dad used to pull the wire tightly and we would have to drive in the staple like nails to secure. This was a task we liked but if we bent or ruined the nails we would hear it from Dad. He was a hard boss but a good teacher and if you were willing you could learn much.

Years later when I returned and Dad was retired but kept a couple of paint ponies close to home I helped to fix a fence with Dad. This time Dad held the pole and I pounded the post into the ground. I used that same home made mall to do the job. Dad taught me well.

Working with my father was a natural way of gaining a perspective on life. He rarely complained, took every task as if it were important, could solve every problem and said that there is no work that is beneath your dignity.That life lesson followed me all through my life and helped me to have the ability to mend fences on my path to a successful working .