Building on integrity: Standing strong SINCE 1947.

Bernie Kondrat made a discovery in his young years before World War II that would prove proficient, productive and profitable.

Bernie and his buddy, Ben Organek, had been raised on farms as young men and were accustomed to a laborious lifestyle.  By the age of 8, Bernie was a regular in the woods alongside his grandfather, getting paid to make fences using pine, spruce, tamarack, balsam and white cedar trees.

Through the years, Bernie began to notice a trend: The pine, spruce and balsam posts had severely deteriorated over time, but the white cedar log posts had remained healthy and strong.  It was something he kept in the back of his mind as he and Ben were sent off to war.

Upon their return, they needed to make a living.  Remembering the strength of those white cedar trees, the two hatched a plan.  With a $200 G.I. loan, Ben and Bernie hitched up two horses and headed into the woods to harvest white cedar.  Initially, each piece of wood was hand-selected and cut from Bernie’s farm to build fences, but because cattle were free-range, jobs were few and far between.

Cutting their losses, they turned their sights to custom cedar log houses.  With a $35 investment in their first mill and a bell saw, the first home — a 22X22 structure — was built for $475, using white cedar hauled from Bernie’s farm to Ben’s mill.  Its exterior took a unique twist on a log home with vertically cut white cedar logs.

It stood out in another important way, too: With its completion in 1947, Boyne Falls Log Homes was born.

Over the next two decades, Ben and Bernie established a reputation as superior custom log home builders. During the 1950s, they built a series of chalet-style custom cedar homes in the Poconos Mountains, and in the 1960s they landed a contract to build a one-of-a-kind, low-maintenance housing resort called Breezy Point in Minnesota.

And Everett Kircher, founder of Boyne Mountain, also in Boyne Falls, Mich., hired them to build the first Boyne Mountain Ski Lodge, which remains a signature structure in the Boyne Mountain Village today.

Boyne Falls Log Homes evolved into Town & Country Cedar Homes in 1983.  After six decades as a custom cedar log home producer, the name has changed and the product and building lines have expanded exponentially.  Our building expertise runs the gamut, from cottage to craftsman, timber style to luxury log cabins, plus commercial building services and numerous cedar products.

Still, the foundation of what we stand for has not deviated since 1947.  Bernie and Ben’s dedication to hard work, client satisfaction and to each other is the basis of Town & Country today.  We remain dedicated to your 100 percent satisfaction.