This writer is a frequent traveler along Grant Street, and one day, noticed the skunks, and at first glance, going by at 30 miles per hour, thought they were real. A quick second glance debunked that thought. The next time I went by, I noticed they were in a different area of the front yard, and in a new spot the next time, as if they were traversing the one-acre plot of land. An imaginative mind conjured up the resident moving the family to different spots every evening after dark to entertain those driving by. This led to contacting the Ulms to get the lowdown, or the 'stink,' on the family of six. Read on … No one really wants to see a skunk, let alone a family of 'Mephitis mephitis' (Latin for skunk, meaning double foul odor) in their yard. But Don and Debbie Ulm of Macomb have six who call the Ulms' front yard home at their Grant Street residence.
But these 'critters' don't need to be trapped or 'deskunked' or shooed away because unlike their living, breathing counterparts, this skunk family of six is carved out of wood courtesy of Debbie's 88-year-old father, Larry Batterton of London Mills, who began woodworking the 1950s and hasn't stopped since. His family, including his daughter and son-in-law, are the recipients of his intricate woodworking treasures, which is how the Ulms gained possession of the skunk family a few years ago.
'My father-in-law had made these, and didn't want them, so he gave them to us,' Don said with a smile. 'The first one was a planter, and the other five are 3D skunks from a pattern he found. As soon as I got them, they went into the front yard.'
As for their travels across the yard, there's really no rhyme-nor-reason other than Don moving them whenever he mows … or when the mood strikes him.
The 'Stinkertons' (to be clear, the Ulms have not named the skunks, this is pure creative license on the writer's part) aren't the first wooden creatures gifted to them by Larry. At their former home near the downtown square, they had an alligator, which was in three pieces – a head, body and tail so it looked like it was underwater, and a coyote. Within their home, they have hummingbirds and intricate wood-carved photos of animals. Larry has also gifted the couple with shelving made from Don's parents' barn from their former homestead and farm in London Mills, quilt racks, a doorstop (in the shape of a sheep as a tribute to Don's dad, who raised sheep) and more, including a grandfather clock, which was the first piece the couple thinks was gifted to them. Larry uses patterns for some of his work, but others are simply done 'freestyle.'
'You never know what he's going to come up with.
He goes wide and different with his work,' Debbie, who wasn't nearly excited about the skunks as her husband, grinned. 'I just love him.'
The Stinkertons, which are made from simple 2 x 6 pine boards, join reindeer – like Bambi and Flower – that Don bought from neighbors who were moving. The reindeer pair go up next to the skunks during the holidays, along with a nine-foot-angel that Don made (his only woodworking project and he plans to keep it that way) and 'Peace' and 'Joy' wood pieces created, of course, by Larry.
Larry only makes pieces for his family, Don explained, and never sells his work. He added that people will stop and ask if they're for sale, and one day, two people stopped within 30 minutes of one another 'I told my father-in-law he'd better get busy making them because I was going to sell them for $100 and I'd give him $10 of every sale,' Don laughed. 'They're unique and something different, and it's really fun for people to notice.'
