- Joined
- May 8, 2002
- Posts
- 442,028
- Reaction score
- 44
GREEN BAY – Good fences make good neighbors said the poet Robert Frost, and sometimes good neighbors make good fences.
Such is the case along Lombardi Avenue, directly north of Lambeau Field, where four property owners are all-in on highlighting Green Bay Packers fandom.
From Steve Kraft's original idea in 1984 to paint his fence at 1177 Shadow Lane, the Packers fences have become a part of Green Bay football culture. "I like to drive by there and think, 'Geez, I started all of this,'" Kraft said. "It’s nice. It’s funny to think about and talk about."
In 1984, Kraft had an actual picket fence on the Lombardi Avenue side of his property, with spaces between the boards, as opposed to all four of the current Packers fences providing solid backgrounds for their murals. He wondered if letters painted on his picket fence facing Lambeau Field could be read.
Turns out they could, and "Welcome Back, Forrest," a reference to the Packers hiring former tackle Forrest Gregg as their coach, was the first-ever message.
Fence themes reflect current Packers circumstances, such as a new quarterback, a talented roster of receivers or the impending NFL draft. Creative sayings and puns frequently are employed.
More: Coming to the 2025 NFL Draft in Green Bay? Here's a detailed map of the draft campus
More: Brown County Library hopes 'Miracle of Green Bay' banners will teach NFL draft visitors the small Packers stories
Three fences were repainted the week before the draft, at 1167 Shadow Lane, 1219 Shadow Lane and 1267 Shadow Lane.
At 1167 Shadow Lane, the slogan is "Draft Day the Titletown Way." It was proposed by Jackie Krull of Bellevue in a contest held by painter Christopher Handler.
"It captures what Green Bay is all about. When people hear 'the Titletown way,' they think of more than just trophies and championships. It's about how we show up," she said. "How we show up for our team, how we show up for our neighbors. And soon, how we're going to show up for the fans."
At the far end of the block, Zane Statz painted 32 faces on a fence. By selling space on the fence, Statz said he raised $15,000 for three Green Bay area charities. The faces will include celebrities and regular folks.
Here's a little more about each of the fences:
Owner: John Kaul, Richland Center
Artist: Christopher Handler
2024 slogan: "Speed Guaranteed. Reed All About It"
2025 draft slogan: "Draft Day the Titletown Way."
Story: Kaul Enterprises of Richland Center, a family-owned restaurant and hospitality business, owns the house at 1167 Shadow Lane and rents it for games and events. The Kaul family frequently uses it as well. The company has rental properties in Florida and Wisconsin, as well as owning restaurants across the state.
"It’s such a unique thing. It’s a Midwestern thing," John Kaul said of the Packers fences.
Kaul, a lifelong "crazy" Packers fan — "When it's a big game, I can hardly watch it" — bought the house a long time back, but started having the fence painted only three years ago, when he was approached by Handler, who, over 27 years, painted four different fences along the street.
"We bought the house back when it was easier to buy the houses because the Packers were losing all the time" Kaul said.
He and his wife were driving through Green Bay and saw the house for sale across from Lambeau Field. They stopped to look at it, and when he noticed from the bathroom window he could see the Lambeau Field scoreboard, he knew he had to swing a deal.
The back yard of the house includes wooden cutouts of Packers players, which are changed from year to year.
Owner: Dorothy Harrsch
Artist: 2024 Bruce Kiel
2024 slogan: "Draft Dreams on Murphy's Turf"
Story: Eventually Kraft's picket fence was replaced by a solid fence, and Kraft by Frederick Harrsch as owner of the property. Harrsch moved to Green Bay from New Jersey to be closer to the Packers and kept up the tradition. Christopher Handler painted the fence for many years before moving on to other fences on Shadow Lane. Harrsch died in 2022 at age 81. His sister-in-law, Dorothy Harrsch, who now owns the property, keeps up the fence-painting tradition with her son, Peter.
The theme and look of the fence are intentionally simple. Bruce Kiel, who's outlined the text on the fence across from Lambeau Field for a decade, said he asked Fred Harrsch before he died if he wanted a fence with fancier artwork. "He said, 'No, it's supposed to be like this,'" Kiel said.
Friends and neighbors, and even Packers President and CEO Mark Murphy, helped paint the fence in the fall before the football season started.
The fence was designated a Historic Site by the city of Green Bay.
Owner: Matthew Weir
Artist: Spencer Young
2024 slogan: "Rollin' Deep"
2025 draft slogan: "Welcome to Lambeau (We kinda hope everyone else's picks stink)"
Story: Spencer Young of Forever Young Designs, Shiocton, designed his 11th fence in 10 seasons. He did an additional one for the Wisconsin-LSU game in 2016. Cheesehead TV, which owns the house next door, is a sponsor of the fence.
The 2024 fence featured paintings of eight Packers receivers, hence the "Rollin' Deep" theme. The 2025 draft theme welcomes fans to Lambeau Field and offers a little sass for fans of the other 31 teams.
The fence over the years promoted more than the Packers. It promoted autism awareness in 2013 and in 2023 recognized a well-known Packers song, "I Love My Green Bay Packers."
Young, a former St. Norbert College football player, also designed and painted the fence at 1069 Shadow Lane, east of Lambeau Field, which has a Wisconsin, rather than Packers, theme.
Owner: Dennis Jr. and Pamela Klumb
Artist: Zane Statz
2024 slogan: "LAMBEAU"
2025 draft design: Faces of 32 individuals, celebrities and general public.
Story: Zane Statz of ZAS Designs, who began painting Packers fences in 2014, normally produces a paint-by-numbers design and invites the public to drop by and pick up a brush. The 2024 design included large letters spelling out "Lambeau" and paintings of eight players, with quarterback Jordan Love at the center.
The draft design he painted himself because of the difficulty level. He plans to return to the community-painted fence in the fall.
Statz is in his 10th year of fence painting at two locations.
Contact Richard Ryman at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at @RichRymanPG, on Instagram at @rrymanPG or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/RichardRymanPG
This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: New look for NFL draft: Packers fences are part of Lambeau Field neighborhood culture
Continue reading...
Such is the case along Lombardi Avenue, directly north of Lambeau Field, where four property owners are all-in on highlighting Green Bay Packers fandom.
From Steve Kraft's original idea in 1984 to paint his fence at 1177 Shadow Lane, the Packers fences have become a part of Green Bay football culture. "I like to drive by there and think, 'Geez, I started all of this,'" Kraft said. "It’s nice. It’s funny to think about and talk about."
In 1984, Kraft had an actual picket fence on the Lombardi Avenue side of his property, with spaces between the boards, as opposed to all four of the current Packers fences providing solid backgrounds for their murals. He wondered if letters painted on his picket fence facing Lambeau Field could be read.
Turns out they could, and "Welcome Back, Forrest," a reference to the Packers hiring former tackle Forrest Gregg as their coach, was the first-ever message.
Fence themes reflect current Packers circumstances, such as a new quarterback, a talented roster of receivers or the impending NFL draft. Creative sayings and puns frequently are employed.
More: Coming to the 2025 NFL Draft in Green Bay? Here's a detailed map of the draft campus
More: Brown County Library hopes 'Miracle of Green Bay' banners will teach NFL draft visitors the small Packers stories
Three fences were repainted the week before the draft, at 1167 Shadow Lane, 1219 Shadow Lane and 1267 Shadow Lane.
At 1167 Shadow Lane, the slogan is "Draft Day the Titletown Way." It was proposed by Jackie Krull of Bellevue in a contest held by painter Christopher Handler.
"It captures what Green Bay is all about. When people hear 'the Titletown way,' they think of more than just trophies and championships. It's about how we show up," she said. "How we show up for our team, how we show up for our neighbors. And soon, how we're going to show up for the fans."
At the far end of the block, Zane Statz painted 32 faces on a fence. By selling space on the fence, Statz said he raised $15,000 for three Green Bay area charities. The faces will include celebrities and regular folks.
Here's a little more about each of the fences:
You must be registered for see images attach
1167 Shadow Lane
Owner: John Kaul, Richland Center
Artist: Christopher Handler
2024 slogan: "Speed Guaranteed. Reed All About It"
2025 draft slogan: "Draft Day the Titletown Way."
Story: Kaul Enterprises of Richland Center, a family-owned restaurant and hospitality business, owns the house at 1167 Shadow Lane and rents it for games and events. The Kaul family frequently uses it as well. The company has rental properties in Florida and Wisconsin, as well as owning restaurants across the state.
"It’s such a unique thing. It’s a Midwestern thing," John Kaul said of the Packers fences.
Kaul, a lifelong "crazy" Packers fan — "When it's a big game, I can hardly watch it" — bought the house a long time back, but started having the fence painted only three years ago, when he was approached by Handler, who, over 27 years, painted four different fences along the street.
"We bought the house back when it was easier to buy the houses because the Packers were losing all the time" Kaul said.
He and his wife were driving through Green Bay and saw the house for sale across from Lambeau Field. They stopped to look at it, and when he noticed from the bathroom window he could see the Lambeau Field scoreboard, he knew he had to swing a deal.
The back yard of the house includes wooden cutouts of Packers players, which are changed from year to year.
You must be registered for see images
1177 Shadow Lane
Owner: Dorothy Harrsch
Artist: 2024 Bruce Kiel
2024 slogan: "Draft Dreams on Murphy's Turf"
Story: Eventually Kraft's picket fence was replaced by a solid fence, and Kraft by Frederick Harrsch as owner of the property. Harrsch moved to Green Bay from New Jersey to be closer to the Packers and kept up the tradition. Christopher Handler painted the fence for many years before moving on to other fences on Shadow Lane. Harrsch died in 2022 at age 81. His sister-in-law, Dorothy Harrsch, who now owns the property, keeps up the fence-painting tradition with her son, Peter.
The theme and look of the fence are intentionally simple. Bruce Kiel, who's outlined the text on the fence across from Lambeau Field for a decade, said he asked Fred Harrsch before he died if he wanted a fence with fancier artwork. "He said, 'No, it's supposed to be like this,'" Kiel said.
Friends and neighbors, and even Packers President and CEO Mark Murphy, helped paint the fence in the fall before the football season started.
The fence was designated a Historic Site by the city of Green Bay.
You must be registered for see images attach
1219 Shadow Lane
Owner: Matthew Weir
Artist: Spencer Young
2024 slogan: "Rollin' Deep"
2025 draft slogan: "Welcome to Lambeau (We kinda hope everyone else's picks stink)"
Story: Spencer Young of Forever Young Designs, Shiocton, designed his 11th fence in 10 seasons. He did an additional one for the Wisconsin-LSU game in 2016. Cheesehead TV, which owns the house next door, is a sponsor of the fence.
The 2024 fence featured paintings of eight Packers receivers, hence the "Rollin' Deep" theme. The 2025 draft theme welcomes fans to Lambeau Field and offers a little sass for fans of the other 31 teams.
The fence over the years promoted more than the Packers. It promoted autism awareness in 2013 and in 2023 recognized a well-known Packers song, "I Love My Green Bay Packers."
Young, a former St. Norbert College football player, also designed and painted the fence at 1069 Shadow Lane, east of Lambeau Field, which has a Wisconsin, rather than Packers, theme.
You must be registered for see images attach
1267 Shadow Lane
Owner: Dennis Jr. and Pamela Klumb
Artist: Zane Statz
2024 slogan: "LAMBEAU"
2025 draft design: Faces of 32 individuals, celebrities and general public.
Story: Zane Statz of ZAS Designs, who began painting Packers fences in 2014, normally produces a paint-by-numbers design and invites the public to drop by and pick up a brush. The 2024 design included large letters spelling out "Lambeau" and paintings of eight players, with quarterback Jordan Love at the center.
The draft design he painted himself because of the difficulty level. He plans to return to the community-painted fence in the fall.
Statz is in his 10th year of fence painting at two locations.
Contact Richard Ryman at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at @RichRymanPG, on Instagram at @rrymanPG or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/RichardRymanPG
This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: New look for NFL draft: Packers fences are part of Lambeau Field neighborhood culture
Continue reading...
