Ken
Ely is a native of Susquehanna County. He received a
B.A. in English at Penn State University and has worked and studied
abroad in Germany and Japan. Ken is employed by Procter & Gamble
Paper Products. Besides stone-wall building, his interests include
cooking, backpacking, and travel. He is a member of Woodbourne Forest
Preserve Stewardship Committee, The Sierra Club, and Keystone Trails
Association. He writes about his avocation:
As
a teenager, I began rebuilding fallen stone walls at Woodbourne
Orchards in Dimock, PA. That first "patch job" still
stands, and I feel the same sense of satisfaction today with each
wall I complete.
Although I view my walls as utilitarian structures, I find a
certain artfulness in fitting stones of varying sizes and shapes
together to form a functional, orderly whole, not unlike Baroque
music. Many aspects of wall-building are rewarding to me: the
contentment of physical exertion, the satisfaction of viewing
a tangible result of my work, and the earthy, subtle coloring
of our sedimentary rock and its mosses and lichens. It's also
important to me to know that I create these structures in much
the same way that our predecessors did, using simple human-powered
tools.
I
founded Good Neighbor Walls in 1996, and have enjoyed projects
in Susquehanna, Wyoming, Luzerne, and Broome (NY) counties. In
addition to restoring old and building new walls, I present slide
programs and conduct wall-building workshops.
This year for the tour I will return to Rodrica Tilley's studio
to continue restoring the wall along her driveway. This wall is
a proud example of a typical taller fence, perhaps for enclosing
a horse pasture. No new stone will be added for this restoration,
save for a few rocks gathered from the surrounding area. Please
stop by to chat about technique, geology, or history, or simply
to watch me handle the stones. I look forward to meeting new visitors
and welcoming those I've encountered on the tour in previous years.
Rodrica's studio is located about 3 miles east of Montrose, just
off S.R. 706 and S.R. 167. Turn on unpaved McCollum Road, which
is directly opposite Eagle Hill (garden sheds, gazebos, etc.).
The studio's driveway is the second on the right. You can reach
me by telephone at 570-289-4783, or by email at stonewalls@chilitech.net.
Ken
Ely is a native of Susquehanna County. He received a
B.A. in English at Penn State University and has worked and studied
abroad in Germany and Japan. Ken is employed by Procter & Gamble
Paper Products. Besides stone-wall building, his interests include
cooking, backpacking, and travel. He is a member of Woodbourne Forest
Preserve Stewardship Committee, The Sierra Club, and Keystone Trails
Association. He writes about his avocation:
As
a teenager, I began rebuilding fallen stone walls at Woodbourne
Orchards in Dimock, PA. That first "patch job" still
stands, and I feel the same sense of satisfaction today with each
wall I complete.
I
founded Good Neighbor Walls in 1996, and have enjoyed projects
in Susquehanna, Wyoming, Luzerne, and Broome (NY) counties. In
addition to restoring old and building new walls, I present slide
programs and conduct wall-building workshops.
