May 2017
Life at Rainbow’s End Serenity Log Homes Opens Westport Log Home Plan April 2017 Log Raising Beasley New President LTHC Watch for Tornadoes
Breaking News When Honest Abe designed and built a new model home, The Cambridge, at Crossville three years ago, we had hopes that it would attract attention. After all, the design incorporated both log and timber frame architectural elements and featured an enticing exterior with stone pylons, a bay window, w ide porches and dramat ic windows framing interior features. Not only has The Cambridge pulled thousands of passersby off I-40 East for a tour, it has received national recognition. First, The Cambridge plan won first place in a 2015 national design competition. Then it was selected as the cover feature for Log Home Living in spring of 2016. This year The Cambridge was one of 10 log homes selected as “America’s Favorite Log Homes.” Unlike most competitions, which are judged by a panel, this award was opened up for public voting. The Cambridge began as one of 41 homes nominated by Log Cabin Hub’s readers, and after more than 11,000 votes were cast, the Cambridge had been voted at the top. “Honest Abe produces some of the finest quality log homes in the world, yet still manages to maintain a family feel to the company,” Log Cabin Hub founder David Woods said. “The Cambridge is a well deserving winner of this award.” Visit the online publication to read the stor y and see The Cambridge photo that captured national attention. w w w. l o g c a b i n h u b. c o m / americas-favorite-log-homes-2017results/. HonestAbe.com
May 2017
In this issue... FEATURED HOME: Rainbow’s End, p. 4-9
Beasley President LTHC , p. 3 Westport Plan, p. 10 June 2017 Log Raising, p. 11 Serenity Launches, p. 12 Tornadœs, p. 14 Cooking with Lodge, p. 15 Honest Abe Living editing, design and layout by Claudia Johnson
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www.honestabe.com Find Honest Abe Living articles, stunning photography and more information at the Honest Abe Log Homes blog and news room. www.honestabe.com/blog Honest Abe Living May 2017
Honest Abe's Josh Beasley Named 2017 President of National Log Home Industry Organization by Claudia Johnson Honest Abe Log Homes President Josh Beasley was among a contingent of log industry leaders in St. Louis recently to discuss the sustainability of log structures. In addition to representing Tennessee-based Honest Abe, Beasley attended in his capacity as 2017 president of the Log and Timber Home Council (LTHC). Beasley explained that LTHC members are log and timber home manufacturers and producers who have united to develop and promote quality building systems and ethical business practices, adding that sustainability is a priority for the organization. “During our meeting we discussed the importance of log and timber structures being built with renewable resources and leaving a small carbon footprint,” Beasley said. “The group identified some key strategies to make sure log structures are recognized and sustained as among the most earth-friendly building methods on the market.” According to Beasley, the LTHC is working to advance the science behind energy efficiency ratings so that log homes are viable for future generations. “Beyond that immediate focus, LTHC members subscribe to a rigorous code of ethics and represent the best options for consumer log and timber home products,” Beasley said. Beasley explained that LTHC members utilize a third-party inspection program to evaluate each timber for its structural integrity and placement within the home. “At Honest Abe we hold ourselves to the highest standard of quality, service and safety,” he emphasized. “We want our homeowners to know that their home is solid, safe and efficient.” Another important mission of the LTHC is to educate builders and buyers on log home construction. The Council also invests time and money into research that keeps the industry on top of the latest codes, standards and product advancements. “It is a privilege to lead and direct the efforts of the LTHC throughout 2017, working alongside the Steering Committee to advance the goals of the council for the benefit of members and ultimately the log and timber clients we all serve,” Beasley said. The LTHC is part of the Building Systems Councils, a division of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), which celebrates its 75th anniversary in 2017. Honest Abe Log Homes, a 38-year-old, family-owned company, has been a longstanding member of the NAHB as well as holding membership in the NAHB’s regional affiliate, the Upper Cumberland Homebuilders Association. For more information visit honestabe.com or the company's model homes in Cookeville, Crossville, Murfreesboro or Moss. HonestAbe.com
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Honest Abe Living May 2017
Rainbow’s End By Claudia Johnson, Honest Abe Log Homes
Af!er years of wishing, Dave and Pam Bullock found their own treasure at the rainbow’s end. HonestAbe.com
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Honest Abe Living May 2017
Pam Bullock’s carefree summer days of youth were enjoyed on the pristine waters of Dale Hollow Lake, so it was only natural she would want to share her family’s leisurely lakeside property with husband Dave. He, too, fell in love with the peaceful area near Byrdstown, Tennessee, and even as a young married couple the pair began planning their retirement home. Repeating history, the Bullocks brought their children to the lake each summer as the family escaped the bustle of their lives in Cincinnati, Ohio, where Dave was Utilities Manager at General Electric’s massive manufacturing operation and Pam was an education administrator. By 2013 Dave was ready for retirement and for building the forever home he and Pam had envisioned for decades. “Dave chose Honest Abe because of the company’s goal of meeting energy standards,” Pam recalled, adding that “with Dave’s background that was an important consideration.” Working with Greg Watson and Ed White of Honest Abe’s Cookeville sales office and Honest Abe designer, Melissa Copas a year was spent modifying a Westport Plan into a custom home. One of many energy-saving measures implemented in the plan was insertion of a pellet stove into the fireplace. “Pellet stoves are the cleanest solid fuel, residential heating appliance,” states energy.gov. “Pellet stoves that are certified by the EPA are likely to be in the 70% to 83% efficiency range.” Additionally, a pellet stove is often less expensive to install than a conventional wood-burning heater, so the savings very quickly offset the slightly higher purchase price. The Bullocks, like most log home owners, situated their house to take full advantage of the view. Luckily, the large window panes and patio doors provided by Honest Abe do not diminish the home’s energy efficiency. HonestAbe.com
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Honest Abe Living May 2017
The Bullocks have lived in their new home since 2015, so they have experienced all four of Tennessee’s seasons and celebrated holidays with family, which includes their four grown children, seven grandchildren and two greatgranddaughers. Log cabins are perfect Christmas houses, since the tall ceilings lend themselves naturally to glorious live trees. Stockings “hung by the chimney with care� is easy to accomplish with massive stone fireplaces a typical focal point for most great rooms. An added bonus is being cozily tucked inside the heavy log walls during an enveloping winter snow and viewing the sparkling lake and misty forest from two-story windows or the deck that encircles the house on three sides
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Honest Abe Living May 2017
The Bullocks had their cabinetry custom designed and crafted to capture the ambience of home while best using space. The deep cherry wood of the cabinetry is highlighted against the natural finish of the flat interior logs , the exposed ceiling beams and the pantry door. Lighting under and on top of wall cabinets provide subtle additional lighting. The kitchen, dining and grea t room fl ow w ith out barriers on the home’s ground level with access to connected decks and a view of the lake from the living area. A section of the wraparound deck outside the dining room is covered and screened in to create what Pam admits is her favorite spot.
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Honest Abe Living May 2017
“Honest Abe has good people to work with from the owners to the guys on the crew. They were courteous and helpful. They gave good advice based on their years of experience.” – Dave Bullock
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Dave and Pam have every intention of growing old together in their log home. Just off the master bedroom on the ground floor, they designed a bathroom with an accompanying walk-in closet and dressing room and a laundry room. Dave said it may seem depressing to some, but they find it comforting that they can have easy access from a wheelchair if necessary. Though they have a full basement and a finished second floor with two bedrooms, a bath and a sitting room, should the need arise, they will be able to live at ground floor level and enjoy their covered deck off the bedroom that wraps all the way to a full-length front porch. The Bullocks selected extra-wide doors and made other subtle design choices to ensure that living in place would be possible. Using Honest Abe’s turn-key program, the couple said they had a good experience with minimal worry during construction. “We trusted that the company would be around for a while since they are Dave Ramsey followers as a business,” Pam said. “We will continue to use Honest Abe when we build our garage.”
Honest Abe Living May 2017
The Bullocks will eventually lay rock around the exposed basement’s exterior walls and add a detached garage to their new homeplace.
For more photos of the Bullock home and other Honest Abe homes as well as dozens of house plans, visit honestabe.com. HonestAbe.com
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Honest Abe Living May 2017
The Westport Plan The Bullock home on Dale Hollow Lake is a customized Honest Abe Westport Plan
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Honest Abe Living May 2017
Register for the June 2017 Log Raising at Moss, Tennessee Get detailed directions and register at www.honestabe.com/events.
Honest Abe Log Homes invites the public to visit our National Headquarters in Moss, Tenn., on Saturday, June 10, beginning at 9 a.m. to attend a Log Raising and Manufacturing Tour. Watch as members of the company build a small structure, showing and describing the process of building an Honest Abe Log Home. Spend time with drafting professionals, manufacturing staff and new home consultants. Ask questions and learn about how our log cabins and timber frame homes are designed and created. Families are welcome. Complimentary lunch will be served at noon, and afterwards a tour of our manufacturing facilities will be conducted. Seating is free but limited, so reservations are required. The event is held in a climate controlled building on the Honest Abe Log Homes National Headquarters and its accompanying manufacturing complex on Hwy. 52, 10 miles west of Celina and approximately 25 miles east of Lafayette in the community of Moss, Tenn. Moss is located in the Tennessee Upper Cumberland, one of Tennessee’s most beautiful and affordable vacation destinations, so we encourage you to attend the log raising and make a weekend of your stay in the region. Within comfortable driving distance of our facility there are numerous overnight accommodations – bed and breakfast homes, historic inns, state parks with lodging, marinas, houseboats and traditional motels from rustic to small town to micropolitan settings. The area is famous for its waterfalls, recreational lakes, driving trails, historic places, wineries and musical venues and festivals. HonestAbe.com
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Honest Abe Living May 2017
DeWayne and Sherry Crumley’s Honest Abe Log Home built in 1993
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Honest Abe Living May 2017
Serenity Log Homes is New Independent Dealer for Honest Abe Log Homes by Claudia Johnson, Honest Abe Log Homes Honest Abe Log Homes, a 38-year-old log home manufacturer based in Moss, Tennessee, has announced the addition of a new Independent Dealership in North Alabama. In March, Serenity Log Homes began serving customers in Lauderdale, Colbert, Franklin, Madison, Limestone, Lawrence and Morgan counties in Alabama and Tishomingo, Alcorn, Pentriss and Itawamba in Mississippi who are seeking to own a custom log or timber frame home or commercial building. Serenity Log Homes is owned by DeWayne and Sherry Crumley, longtime residents of Tuscumbia. A native of Columbia, Tennessee, DeWayne originally moved to Sherry’s native North Alabama to work in a family-owned business for more than 20 years. For the past 10 years, DeWayne has been an agent with Cypress Realty Group in Florence selling residential, commercial and farm real estate across the area. “DeWayne’s knowledge of the region and his ability to help customers find and purchase the perfect land for their home or business is a great benefit to his log and timber frame customers,” observed Jeff Clements, Vice President of Honest Abe Log Homes. “It is also helpful that DeWayne built and lived in two custom Honest Abe homes in the past.” The desire for a log home was kindled when DeWayne was just a boy. “As a child I loved playing with Lincoln Logs, and one of my fondest memories is of watching ‘Bonanza’ with my dad and loving the log home the Cartwrights lived in,” DeWayne recalled. “Once I was old enough to know that I would be a homeowner someday, that is when the dream began.” While only in his 20s DeWayne started the process of learning all he could about log and timber homes, talking to various dealers and meeting log home owners. “Back then there was no internet, so I had a lot of travel time, a lot of site visits and a lot of reading,” he recalled. “I figured out that Honest Abe had the best quality and the best people of all that I’d visited, and I had visited a lot.” Working with Honest Abe, he designed and custom built his first log home in 1985. “The people who own it now love it and have had no problems with it,” DeWayne said, adding that he and Sherry built a second log home in 1993, living in it for 15 years and raising their three children there. The Crumleys said that becoming dealers for Honest Abe Log Homes was a natural step for them professionally and personally. “During my career God has allowed me to travel and deal with Fortune 500 companies all across the USA,” said DeWayne, an ordained Baptist minister who pastors Cross Bridges Baptist Church in Maury County, Tennessee. “One thing people have in common is that everyone is looking for a place of serenity and peace to call home.” Sherry said that’s how her log home made her feel, and that guests to the Crumley home had the same experience. “I fell in love with the ambiance of the warmth of the wood in our home,” she said. “Whenever we had people into our home they would often comment on how comfortable our home felt and that the warmth of the wood made them feel right at home.” Not only was Sherry happy that their home made guests comfortable, she and DeWayne were pleased with the energy savings and sense of safety their home afforded. “The big, thick logs are so massive that the outside world is just that – kept outside,” Sherry said. “There is a great feeling of security and protection when storms came through in our log home. Plus, I was always amazed at how low our electric bills were, and that’s always good.” The Crumleys sold their log home and moved into a conventional stick built house several years ago to downsize when their children left home. “We have continually talked about how much we missed the warmth of the wood and logs in our home,” Sherry said. “We have recently decided it’s time to build another log home. I am so excited! I can’t wait to have that homey feeling again and swing on my front porch.” The Crumleys said that as Honest Abe Independent Dealers they feel especially qualified to help navigate their customers through every step of the process from design through construction. DeWayne believes that his real estate experience and industry connections will enable him to assist with obtaining financing as well. “We want other families to have the experience we did in our Honest Abe home and are expecting to with our five grandchildren in the one we are building soon,” DeWayne said. “We also want to help business owners bring the beauty of log and timber frame construction to commercial buildings in North Alabama.” Learn more about the Crumleys and Serenity Log Homes at www.serenityloghomes.com. Call 256-762-3808 to arrange an appointment. HonestAbe.com
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Honest Abe Living May 2017
Tornado Season Could be More Safe in a Log Home The log and timber home industry has countless stories of log and timber homes surviving the worst of Mother Nature. Since tornado season is upon us, we thought it would be helpful to share this 2008 story.
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Honest Abe Living May 2017
Mexican Cornbread with Chipotle Shrimp Salad
An original recipe by Karen Harris of Littleton, Colorado, using Lodge Cast Iron. www.lodgemfg.com Preheat the oven to 400° F. Pour 1 tsp. of the oil into the bottom of a Lodge® 10¼ in. cast iron skillet. Rub the oil around the skillet with a paper towel. Place the oiled skillet on the stove over medium-high heat. Once the pan is hot, add the onion and bell pepper. Toast the vegetables until they have brown spots and become aromatic, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic and sauté for 1 minute. Transfer to a medium size mixing bowl. Set aside until ready to use. Pour 1 tsp. of the oil into a 10¼ in. Lodge® cast iron griddle. Wipe with a paper towel and place in the preheated oven to heat. Wipe the skillet out with a paper towel and return to the heat. Add 1 tsp. of oil to the skillet and rub it with the paper towel. Heat the pan to hot and add the corn to the skillet and toast (stirring occasionally) until it is slightly blistered and has brown spots. Transfer ²/3 to the bowl with the other vegetables and reserve ¹/3 for garnish. To the mixing bowl with the vegetables, add the cornbread mix, egg, milk, cilantro and green onions. Mix well. Pour onto the hot griddle, smoothing with the back of a spoon until it is evenly distributed. Return to the oven and bake at 400° F for 10 to 12 minutes or until it is a light golden brown. Keep warm until ready to use. Wipe the cast iron skillet out with paper towel. Preheat the pan over medium high heat. When the pan is hot, add oil and butter. When the butter is melted, add onion and sauté until soft, approximately 3 minutes. Add garlic and sauté for 1 minute longer. Add the adobo sauce and stir well to incorporate. Once the mixture is hot and bubbly, add the shrimp and sauté until they just start to turn opaque. Add the lime juice, salt and paper, stir well. Remove from heat, cover and keep warm until ready to use. Put the mayonnaise, lime juice and chile powder in a medium size salad bowl. Mix well. Add 1/3 of the cheese and stir gently. Place the lettuce and avocado on top of the dressing in the bowl. Toss until the lettuce and avocado are coated. To assemble, slice the cornbread into 6 equal sized pieces. Transfer to serving plates. Spoon equal amounts of the shrimp and sauce over the cornbread. Top with the dressed lettuce and avocado. Garnish with the reserved corn and grated cheese. Sprinkle with additional chile powder if desired. Serves 6
3 tsp. vegetable oil, divided ½ small yellow onion ¼ of a large orange or red bell pepper 1 large clove garlic, crushed 1 c. fresh or frozen yellow sweet corn, divided 1 (7 oz.) package Martha White® Sweet Yellow Cornbread Mix 1 egg, beaten ½ c. milk 1 tbsp. coarsely chopped cilantro ¼ c. chopped green onion tops CHIPOTLE SHRIMP: 2 tbsp. vegetable oil 4 tbsp. butter ¼ c. finely chopped yellow onion 1 large garlic clove, crushed 1/3 c. canned adobo sauce 1¼ lb. medium sized shrimp, peeled and deveined 1 tbsp. fresh lime juice ½ tbsp. kosher salt 1/8 tsp. coarsely ground black pepper SALAD: 1/3 c. mayonnaise 2 tsp. fresh lime juice ¼ tsp. mild chile powder 3 oz. cotija cheese, grated, divided 1 medium size head of red leaf lettuce, cut into strips 1 ripe, yet firm avocado, peeled, seeded and coarsely chopped
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Honest Abe Living May 2017
Forever looks better from an Honest Abe Log Home
Moss National Headquarters
Crossville Model
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Cookeville Model
Complete log or timber frame packages Custom manufactured in Tennessee In-house custom design & plans Log or timber frame from any plan Variety of log styles and corner systems Green building and design available Dry-in Service and HELP Build Program Honest Value Guarantee quote matching Logs are kiln-dried Eastern White Pine Four annual free log raisings & mill tours Free premium plans & more with free website registration More than 7,000 sold worldwide Family-owned & operated for 38 years Worldwide shipping
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