04/25/2025
50 stories for 50 years🪓🌲
Back in 2008, I took a leap that changed the course of my life by attending the Pat Wolfe Log Building School in Ontario. I was in my early twenties, hadn’t traveled much outside Ohio but had a childhood dream to build log homes. That course wasn’t just a class… It was an adventure, a rite of passage, and one of the most impactful experiences of my life.
It was the first year the course was fully led by Brian Morrison, who had just taken over from the legendary Pat Wolfe. But Pat was still deeply involved during the transition, about 75% present, so we got to learn from both the master and the new torchbearer. It was incredible to witness the handing down of a tradition while being part of something alive and evolving.
There were fifteen of us to start, from all over the world… the U.S., Canada, Ireland, Switzerland, Japan, the UK, and Slovakia. We lived in rustic lakeside cabins across from the log yard where we spent our days building a full-scale log home for a real client. Mornings were for lessons, afternoons were for chainsaws, chisels, and the physical rhythm of hands-on learning. By the later weeks, we were deep into the build, with the hum of multiple chainsaws going at once as we raced to finish the shell before the course ended.
And after the long days? Mooseheads cracked open around a campfire, grilling, fishing, canoeing, and swapping stories from different corners of the world. That blend of grit, sweat, and camaraderie is something I’ll never forget.
After graduating, I followed my heart out west, first to the Blackfeet Reservation in Montana, working with a Native American builder near Glacier National Park. Then on to Cody, Wyoming, where I kept chasing that dream with a chainsaw in hand, carving out log homes and a life I felt connected to.
That course gave me skills but more than that, it gave me direction, confidence, and a deeper sense of belonging in the world of log craftsmanship. I'll always be grateful. -Nicholas
