Jaunty fences add a touch of fun
Marty Stitsel rests his arms on one of the skis he incorporated into his fence to give it a bit of character.
(Photo by SUSAN DRINKARD)
About a quarter of a Volkswagen has been a part of this fence line on North Monroe in Sandpoint for many years, what some call “a conversation piece” outside a local business near the library.
Two beveled stained glass pieces inserted into a wood fence surrounding a house on the northwestern side of Sandpoint give this regular-appearing fence an unexpected jazzy array of color. The fence was recently built by two prominent carpenter/project artists who want to remain anonymous.
A close-up view of a fence on northwestern side of Sandpoint that features stained glass panels.
“Fences and walls can be effective and even soothing, at least for those who build them,” according to Richard Engel, renowned journalist for NBC News. But some fences in Sandpoint are not effective, maybe soothing, but mostly just jaunty and fun.
Take Marty Stitsel and Krista Eberle’s fence on Baldy Road, for example. Stitsel has been outside this past week building a decorative fence using materials he already had on their 10 acres.
“I call it my COVID fence. I’m getting a lot of stuff done because of COVID,” he said. When you can’t go out very much, you have time to work on the projects you’ve always wanted to do, he said, and the fence is one he has thought about for years.
Some of the fenceposts were put in 40 years ago. For the new ones, his neighbor used an excavator and posthole digger to dig down three feet. He was grateful because trying to hand dig those would have taken him hours and hours.
“I’m using junk lumber and also some clear cedar, which is too good for this fence, but I’m cobbling the fence together with what I have around our property,” said the retired firefighter for the city of Bellevue, Wash.
Stitsel includes many skis in the fence because they are materials he had on hand, skis no longer useful, and because they represent what he enjoys. He included a bicycle he picked up from Bonner County Bicycles in the “free” stand outside the shop because bicycling is another of his passions.
Bicycling took him across the country twice. The first time was in 2011 when he served as a crew member for the Race Across America, or RAAM. In 2014 he rode his bike 3,000 miles as a participant in RAAM, the ultra-distance cycling race that began in Oceanside, California and ended in Annapolis, Maryland. He rode from midnight to 6 a.m., a time period he enjoyed because it wasn’t hot, it was more peaceful than the daytime shift, and there was less traffic. If he rode across the country again, he would not do it in a race. “I’d take my time and enjoy the scenery,” he said.
Some of the skis in the fence are ones he used to use, but not all of them. Stitsel, who started skiing at Schweitzer Mountain in 1980, before he lived here, worked at Schweitzer as a host for seven-to-eight years on the weekends, for a free ski pass.
“We assisted the ski patrol if they needed help. We were at the top of lifts to advise people, if they needed advisement, about the easiest or hardest way down,” he said.
Stitsel still skis on Little Blue and some Black Diamond runs, but “it depends on the conditions, and how many people are there.”
As far as the fence goes, he says it is a work in progress. He wants to add a kid’s bike.
Fences are places that wall people out or have a welcoming vibe. Stitsel knows his fence won’t keep anyone in or out. Instead, it is an imaginative project in step with the times — recycling “found” objects representing his passions, a project he said is possible “when you’re in quarantine for months on end.”
