Painting the Fence with Creosote

One day my Dad decided to tear down his dilapidated wooden corral and build a new one. He installed heavy cedar posts and planned to nail some heavy 2x6 boards to them. At the time, white or yellow pine lumber was not pre-treated like it is now. Untreated boards wouldn’t last but a few years. Therefore, before they were nailed, Dad placed them on the ground and had me paint them with creosote at least two times.

Creosote has been outlawed now and can’t be bought any more. I can see why because it sure was a nasty smelling liquid and burned the skin if accidentally touched. But at that time, Dad bought it in one-gallon tin containers and sometimes in five-gallon buckets.

Dad gave me a 4-inch wide paintbrush and told me to get to work painting the boards. It was no fun slapping on the burning liquid. I never was much on painting with a brush. I dipped the whole brush into the creosote and, as I painted, it splattered all around and some drops spattered on my face and neck. With the hot sun beating down on me it wasn’t long before I was squirming with pain. Unless one has smelled raw

Unless one has smelled raw creosote liquid, it is hard to explain. It had a biting odor that went deep into the nostrils; and, believe you me; I had my share of being exposed. After the boards were nailed into place, I had to give each board a third coat.

When he nailed the boards, Dad never used a nail bag. Instead, he had me hold a nail bucket and hand him the nails one at a time. As he was nailing one, he was already reaching for the next one in my hand. I had to stay as far as possible from the hammering because as he finished the head of the nail, the hammer would strike the board causing the impact to splatter the wet creosote all over the place. Once again, I got creosote splatter on my face and arms.

If the EPA saw something like this today, they surely would come and haul one of us away, but I didn’t complain. It was just another day in the life of a boy growing up on the farm!