Married in 1967, my wife Virginia and I have three grown children: David, Anne and Emily. We are blessed with two grandchildren, Anne's sons Zachary and Nicholas and Emily's daughter Virginia Anne.

I have worked with wood all my life. In 1952, I became a homebuilder and cabinet / furniture maker. Self employed since 1958, I have always been one to structure my day as I please. I enjoy growing a large garden, feeding my fish and chickens, looking after the woods, and raising Christmas trees.

Virginia is a Longaberger Sales Consultant. She loves to collect and display the Longaberger line of baskets, pottery, wrought iron, and fabrics in our homes as well as the Bed & Breakfast. She is also busy with cross stitch, canning, baking, and helping to raise our grandchildren.

Soon after purchasing the 98 acre farm in 1975, we set to work rehabilitating the original homestead and large barn. Both buildings share a mortise and tenon or post and beam construction.

In 1978, our moving day was pushed back by the big blizzard having taken off the house roof. We reroofed and moved in with considerable help from our church group.

We always knew, however, that the homestead would merely serve as our temporary residence. In the spring of '79, we felled a lot of mature timber in the surrounding woods and set up a sawmill belted to an old Farmall tractor.

Tens of thousands of board feet stuck and drying, we also began converting our grain fileds to apple orchard.

Today, we have 54 acres in orchard, and both blossom time and harvest are a must see. In 1980, we dug our pond and leveled a spot for the basement and foundation of our new house. My wife and son, (only 11 at the time), and I rough framed and shingled the four story Swiss chalet. Unique and detailed masonry, plaster and woodwork in the 18+ rooms did not see us move in until six years later.

In 1995, we purchased a small tract of nearby land and the eight year process of Ohio Log House Bed & Breakfast began. As a favor to me, the previous owners had contacted the Bloom Township Fire Department, and the completely ramshcakle structure was slated to be burned. However, once I discovered that the largest old log house I had ever come accross lay beneath the clapboard siding, plans changed. This most recent chapter in my life has moved from my merely wanting to preserve something so uncommon in our day and age to my decision to share the experience with others.