Log Dream Home Becomes A Reality

For many who have driven along US Highway 2 for years, the old weathered telegraph poles littering the landscape between the ditches and railroad tracks are nothing more than weathered reminders of the old telephone lines the railroad decided to have cut down years ago. During the years they lay on the earthen ground intertwined with weeds and prairie landscape causing the wood to crack and stress, a rustic reminder of how unforgiving the elements can truly be in this part of the country. For most, they are nothing more than a natural part of frontier landscape blending with cattle and vast openness. But for Steve Anders, the wood lying in jumbled piles inspired his creative side and encouraged him to build a log home, one pole at the time.

Last week, his vision of a quaint, two story log home became a reality, as he and his wife, Pam, moved in the last of their belongings. While boxes are still randomly scattered throughout and shoved in every nook and cranny, the potential for what the home will look like once the coordinating knickknacks are added and the final touches realized, is sure to be nothing less than a rustic piece of paradise.

Together they started planning and designing their home four years ago. Today, it sits on two acres just north of Culbertson located off Highway 16.

“I have always loved log homes. They offer warmth in the winter and keep cool in the summer and I think they are cozy and fun to live in,” Pam said.

As a full time elementary school counselor for Poplar School, Steve worked on the home in his spare time every chance he had. The home was completed through many weekend warrior projects that culminated in the 25x35 square foot home. Initially, the Anders collected the logs after purchasing them from a Poplar man who had the rights to them and also purchased some from Keenen Englke, Culbertson.

As you drive up the long earthen driveway you are greeted by their horses Tucker, Joe, Blackie and Coon and their two mules Mollie and Newt. Tug, the family’s young black Labrador retriever is just around the corner in his large, accommodating kennel. His friendly, yet naughty behavior is evident with his welcoming tail wag and high pitched bark.

Upon entering their home, the high ceilings create an open floor plan that connects both the bottom and top floors.

The tiled, cream colored floors are cool but the home is warm as wood crackles in the squatty iron fireplace Steve welded together piece by piece. The mahogany leather nail head couches create a rustic feeling as you look out the great room with its large windows and triangular panes of glass reaching to the top of the 18-foot ceiling.

Up the chunky, glazed split log stairs, a stuffed raccoon is perched waiting to greet visitors entering the loft. “It’s really just such a fun room. When our daughters were helping us move in, everyone was up there in sleeping bags and cots with blankets all over the place.Iit was just so great to have everyone together in one room talking and laughing,” Pam said.

Mounted nearly as high as the 12x12 pitched ceilings, a large elk’s head emphasizes an atmosphere of rustic life. A mule deer head is mounted adjacent and equally high. A rounded wood table is surfaced with faux marble and counter tops blend into swirls of natural browns and sandy taupe. While it may seem you have been swept back to early frontier times similar to Little House on the Prairie, this is not like any home Charles Ingles may have constructed. Every creature comfort and amenity is available and accounted for; from the wall mounted plasma television to the tiled walk-in glass shower. A hot tub is set up out back for rest and relaxation and kitchen cabinets are inlayed with blue and cream stained glass.

The home is comprised of over 100 heavy fir logs each weighing several hundred pounds. To erect the logs Steve used a block and tackle technique that allowed him to winch them up using his pickup for leverage.

Preparing the logs so they would be ready and treated for the build was a long and tedious process. Anders peeled each log by hand with a dry knife giving each piece its own authentic consistency and markings. While some of the logs were smaller, the average length was 30 feet. Once the logs were stacked and put in place and the weight bearing wall was established down the home’s center, logs were erected to support the upstairs loft and bathroom.

Because log homes don’t use the traditional insulation that a stick built or modular home would, chinking was used to seal the cracks and crevices between each log to help keep the home weather proof and protected. The Anders’ are still working on completing the final touches on the interior chinking.

“The aspect about log homes that makes them a continual work in progress is the fact that they have to be treated throughout the years to insure the wood doesn’t rot. Our dry climate helps with keeping the moisture damage away but the sun still breaks it down over time. Staining is something that must be done every few years to keep the home looking the way you want it while preserving the woods integrity,” Steve said.

This isn’t the first home he built and it isn’t his first experience working with natural logs. Before pursuing his career in education in Eastern Montana, Anders worked as a lumber jack and tree faller near his home in Stevensville, MT. He spent about a decade in the forests but decided to pursue education because his job was so dangerous. About 35 years ago, he built his retirement log home outside of Stevensville and today the couple rents it out.

Normally, telephone poles wouldn’t be a good choice for building a log home because some contain toxic preservatives. The logs Steve used, however, contained a thin layer of zinc that was peeled off when he prepared the logs for use. All that remained once the peeling process was complete was the clean, bare wood. “These logs will not shrink, settle or twist. They are cracked and look stressed but that adds to the character of each log. These are some of the prettiest house logs I have seen after peeling and sanding them,” Steve said.

Just north of the home is a large metal shop spanning 30x40 feet that is just near completion.

The Anders weren’t in a big hurry to complete their log home because they were already living in a home in Culbertson they purchased years ago. For some, four years would have been too long of a wait, but for them, it was worth every minute.

The Anders have been married for nearly 32 years and together have two daughters, Tracy, Billings, and Erin and son-in-law Cameron, Cheyenne, WY.