Since 1947 we’ve worked with clients from coast to coast and around the world to conceptualize and craft luxury log, timber and natural wood homes that are one with the land around them and the lives of the people within them.
We often talk about the TEAM, the CORE GROUP or the COLLABORATIVE we are made up of and what it takes to be invited into this circle — that 110%, overachiever, extra mile attitude thing. Not referring to just our Town + Country family, but all involved in the journey of handing over the keys to your dream. Every aspect, every level, at every step of the process, at every intersection. These are all the people that really make it happen …or not.
NOT ALL MAKE THE CUT and get invited to this party. The ones already at the party can quickly spot those “nots” at first contact. Often their language is the first giveaway — they say “customer” not “client” and “I ain’t never heard of that before” or, my personal favorite, (with arms crossed over chest) “now whydya want to do it like that”. Sometimes it is the actual lack of any language — a frown, a slow shake of the head, maybe a murmur under the breath during a slow turn and retreat. But mostly, the biggest tell is just simple, all encompassing, to the core negativity. We have always looked at life as a sheet of yellow-pad paper, divided top to bottom, on the left side all positive words/actions, on the right corresponding negative — good/bad, honest/dishonest, overachiever/slacker, giver/taker, active/sloth, etc./etc. and the like. The idea being, no one is perfect and completely on the left side of the sheet, but, at the least, always striving (another positive) to be there. But, not with these “nots”. In their case, no interview process required. No question-and-answer session will happen. The present members of this inner circle will just catch eye contact, smirk and say “he doesn’t get it” or “she’s definitely not invited to the party”…
This informal vetting continues, daily, behind the curtain, out of most clients’ view. The party goes on for the ones that make the cut. And you, the client reap the benefits of working together with this group of motivated, passionate overachievers that share a COMMON PHILOSOPHY: We are very serious about what we do, but have a hell-of-a-lot of fun doing it.
Meet our Director of Client Fulfillment in this episode of EPIC LOG HOMES
Town + Country Cedar Homes was founded on a commitment to quality. From the trees we choose to build with to the painstaking attention to detail that we give each and every log home we design and craft, you won’t find custom, handcrafted log home builders more dedicated to creating your ideal log or timber frame home.
It all started with a fence post
Town + Country’s founder, Bernie Kondrat, was raised in Northern Michigan alongside the area’s many lakes and forests. By the age of 8, Bernie was a regular in the woods with his grandfather, getting paid to make fences using Pine, Spruce, Tamarack, Balsam, and White Cedar trees.
Through the years, Bernie noticed that the pine, spruce and balsam posts they used severely deteriorated over time but the White Cedar log posts remained healthy and strong. When he returned from fighting in WWII, Bernie remembered that observation from his youth. With a $200 G.I. loan, Bernie and his friend Ben Organek, decided to start a fence building company.
They hitched up two horses and headed into the woods to harvest White Cedar. Each piece of wood was hand-selected and cut from Bernie’s farm. But, because cattle in the area were free-range, fence-building jobs were few and far between.
Adding a unique twist on the traditional log home
Cutting their losses, Bernie and Ben decided to leave fence posts behind and try their hands at building custom Cedar log houses. With a $35 investment in their first mill and a bell saw, they built their first home—a 22’ x 22’ structure. The home was built using White Cedar hauled from Bernie’s farm to Ben’s mill. Its exterior took a unique twist on the traditional log home with vertically cut White Cedar logs. The whole thing was built for just $475.
With the completion of their first home in 1947, Boyne Falls Log Homes was born.
Innovation, quality and hard work pay off
Over the next two decades, Ben and Bernie established a reputation as superior custom and handcrafted 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. One of Town + Country’s most well known structures is the Boyne Mountain Ski Lodge. Everett Kircher, the intrepid founder of Boyne Mountain, hired Ben and Bernie to design and build an iconic ski lodge that is still in use today and stands as a landmark in the Boyne Mountain Village.
In 1983, Boyne Falls Log Homes was renamed Town + Country Cedar Homes. Today, the innovation and quality that Bernie and Ben brought to building log and timber frame homes continues. We pride ourselves on crafting homes that exceed the expectations of our customers and we take pleasure in the joy these homes bring to families for generations to come.
