Farmer’s new fence is a vehicle for his message

The Associated Press
Published: August 5, 2008

HOOPER, Utah (AP) — A farmer has erected a backyard fence made of three old cars sticking up in the air to send a message to new neighbors that he can do whatever he wants on his property.

“This is just a fun way for me to say, ‘Hey boys, I’m still here,”‘ Rhett Davis said. “This is my redneck Stonehenge.”

Davis came up with the idea after neighbors who recently moved into homes next to his hayfield complained about his farm.

“The people who bought the homes say, ‘Well, we love looking into your yard and seeing the horses and the cattle, but we don’t like the flies, and we don’t like the mosquitoes,’ and when I cut my field to bale it, they say, ‘We don’t like the dust in the air,’ “ Davis said.

Neighbors declined to comment to the Standard-Examiner of Ogden.

Davis said he offered to pay for half the cost of a fence between his property and the others and to build it. He said his neighbors declined the offer, saying it would block their view. Davis said he used a backhoe to dig three large holes on the edge of his property, then took three cars that had competed in demolition derbies and planted them nose-first into the ground. He said the cars were planted out of humor rather than spite.

He stressed that it’s important for new residents to realize that Hooper is a farming community.

“I respect that they’re here and spent a lot on their homes, but on the other hand, give me a little bit, too,” Davis said. “I’ve been here since I was 7 years old.”

He said he doesn’t intend to keep the cars up permanently.

“These can come out just as easy as they went in,” Davis said.