State-Journal.com - Frankfort Faces: John Conway

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Photo By State Journal/Hilly SchifferJohn Conway

Photo By State Journal/Hilly Schiffer A black coating drips from a fence line on John Conway’s property on Hanly Lane. “The biggest one we ever did was 52 miles. It took all summer,” he said. John said the coating preserves the longevity of the wood and it is more affordable.

Photo By State Journal/Hilly Schiffer John Conway, 58, feeds two of his mules at his home on Hanly Lane. John, who also paints a black coating on fences, is the third generation in his family to raise mules. J

Photo By Photo SubmittedFrank “Chris” Christian, left and John Conway take a break after clearing land on Fieldstone Farm on Hanly Lane in 1984. The two started a fence coating business that uses asphalt to seal wood. John carried on the work after Chris’ death in a plane crash in 1985.

John Conway measures his success in miles and gallons.

He’s 58 and in the business of supplying the black coating that covers long stretches of fence across the U. S.

He started in 1984 at the prompting of close friend, Frank “Chris” Christian.

He said after Chris - who went by a shortened version of his last name - convinced him to join the venture because of its potential for repeat work, the men revolutionized the fence industry by providing the black coating on a large scale.

“We took something to a limit they never did,” he said. “The biggest one we ever did was 52 miles. It took all summer.”

The pair started by coating fences along Hanly Lane more than two decades ago.

“It was black all the way across,” John recalls of the first fence job. “It was a real mess. I didn’t have any idea what we were doing.”

The first development was Fieldstone Farm, which Chris bought to shape into a thoroughbred horse farm.

“We learned on that farm,” John said.

He said on the first day, most of the coating ended up on the grass, driveway and men, rather than the fence.

Just over a year later, the partnership suffered its greatest loss - Chris and his oldest son, Compton, died in a plane crash on a return trip to Kentucky from New York, on Oct. 5, 1985.

“That was a sad day,” John said. “That’s a day I’ll always remember. I often think about Chris and Compton. Where they would be … what it would be like.”

But he said he knew Chris would want the company to prosper.

“I took over the whole business,” John said. “That’s when I started the paint supply company (C&C of KY, Inc.).”

John says his work is on most horse farms in Central Kentucky.

If an asphalt-based coating is not used, the fence has a gray/blue hue, he said. That’s how a passerby can pick out his fences along roadways.

“Asphalt is the oldest and most proven material on the market.”

The coating - made from a byproduct of gas - lasts for four to six years or longer before needing a touch up, John said. The coating is commonly mistaken for creosote, a wood preservative. It comes in large tankers and is sprayed onto the fence on all sides except underneath to allow the wood to breathe.

“You never paint under the bottom. You leave that exposed.”

His company also repairs fences.

“Mostly we supply the material and paint the fences. “There’s thousands and thousands of miles out there.”

The job keeps him occupied year round - during the winter months he works coating fences in Ocala, Fla.

Some of the larger farms he’s coated fences include Gainesway and Patchen Wilkes. He’s done fences for horse farms, golf courses and private estates in Arizona, South Carolina, Illinois and Florida. He’s done fences for country musicians Billy Ray Cyrus and The Judds. He said he’s had inquiries from Australia about his work.

While John supplies the material to fence owners across the U.S. - he doesn’t actually build the fences.

“The only thing we do is black asphalt-based fence.”

John said the coating preserves the longevity of the wood - typically oak - and is more affordable. If there’s no coating wood will rot, he said.

Fences come in three, four or five-board levels. Five board fences are mainly used for stallions. Building the fence costs a minimum of $25,000 per mile, John said, coating costs 10 percent of the cost of building.

Look for the drip

John said the trademark of his fences is the thick drips.

“If you see those, it’s us.”

Sometimes the coating is placed on barns, John said.

The coating comes in a minimum 400-gallon order or up to 6,000-gallon tankers and John estimates he goes through a maximum of 60,000 gallons a year.

He says he likes being self-employed and traveling. He said the worst part is finding people for the physical labor of completing a fence.

“It’s like farming,” he said. “It’s hard work.”

Spring is typically his busiest time. Many want fences freshened up before the Kentucky Derby in May. He said with the World Equestrian Games coming to the state next year, he could have lots of work.

But he said the economy is also affecting business.

“These farm (owners), they’re just waiting to see what’s going to happen.”

John said most property owners are really nice; he’s worked for doctors, lawyers and people who have been farming for years.

“You meet interesting people,” he said. “It all started right here on Hanly Lane.

“We keep everybody’s fences painted up here,” he said. “We’ve got good neighbors.”

In 25 years John has become somewhat knowledgeable in the fence business.

“I quit counting after 500 miles and a million gallons,” he said. “That’s how much we’ve been through.”

Stubborn as a mule

Humans aren’t the only ones to enjoy John’s fences.

He’s the third generation in his family to raise mules. His grandfather, Ben Conway, started by using the animals to help plant trees in the Collins Lane area in the 1960s. Two uncles, Ed and Walter Conway, cared for mules.

His wife of 20 years, Deborah, also grew up in a family that owned mules.

“A lot of people think they’re stubborn,” he said. “If you got a good one, you keep it. If you got a bad one, you get rid of it.”

He’s even tied a common attribute associated with mules to his fence business – wearing baseball caps proclaiming “1-800-BLK-FENCE: Stubborn on quality.”

“There’s not a lot of upkeep in mules,” John said. “A good mule is very intelligent. A mule can sense what rider’s on it.”

The Conways currently own three mules, Chocolate Bell, Polly and Kate, but their farm has been home to as many as 10 at one time, John said.

Chocolate Bell participated in the parade of horse breeds at the Kentucky Horse Park a few years ago. John said her job was to lead a mare that couldn’t see. The couple has also entered mules in horse shows at the Franklin County Fair.

“It’s something I’ve had a love for. It’s a passion. Mules are just neat and they’re good conversational pieces. Everybody likes a mule.”

John - born in Switzer - worked for the Frankfort Plant Board and an engineering company in Phoenix before returning to his Frankfort hometown to be near his family in the 1980s.

John and Deborah have three children, Kimberly, John David and Kristin, whom he named after Chris.

“When my daughter was born, I showed her to Betty Christian, Chris’ mom, and told her the only way I could ever get even with him was to name a girl after him.”

Fences and mules have made up a large part of John’s life. He said he’s most pleased with the connections to others they’ve allowed.

“The neatest part is coming from a small town and meeting people,” he said.

For John caring for mules and coating fences isn’t just hard work.

“If you don’t do something you enjoy, you don’t need to be doing it.”

“Frankfort Faces” is a series that highlights people from within the Frankfort and Franklin County community. Each feature follows one of the city’s most unique personalities and includes a story, photos and video, which can be found by clicking the TV icon attached to the story online at state-journal.com.