From left: Brown County Habitat for Humanity Executive Director Erin Kirchhofer, Wayne and Dove Johnson and Habitat President Andrea Replogle stand in front of the cruck at its auction on Nov. 19. The winning bid equaled the exact amount Habitat paid for its second of three land parcels for home builds in 2023.
Submitted photo
Affordable safe housing is at a premium and Brown County Indiana Habitat for Humanity struggles to find property in order to build homes for residents.
Thanks to a donation from Brown County Woodworkers Club, the cost was recently offset for a piece of land that will house one of the three Habitat homes to be built in 2023.
The woodworkers decided to designate the proceeds of their annual project to Habitat, donating a 16×24-foot “cruck” structure made of fallen or dead red and white oak trees.
With long, naturally curved timber leaning inward to form a ridge and support the roof and held together primarily with wooden pegs, the structure could be seen neighboring Gnaw Mart on State Road 46 East, at woodworker Michael Riebl’s woodshop.
On Nov. 19 an auction was held to sell the structure.
Not only did it sell, but the final number for the purchase equaled exactly the amount Habitat needed to purchase a lot to build its second home in 2023.
The auction was the first of its kind, Habitat Board President Andrea Replogle said last week, and was able to happen because of the generosity of the woodworkers.
Riebl approached Habitat and said the group had an idea to construct, donate and auction a structure, with all proceeds going to the nonprofit.
Habitat asked for logs from the community and purchased a banner with information about the auction, including the starting bid: $25,000.
Replogle said she was encouraged when more than 30 people to come to the auction, knowing the amount of the starting bid.
Habitat Executive Director Erin Kirchhofer said the auction brought together a group of people who saw the value in the nonprofit.
“It was just a gift that the woodworkers reached out to us,” Replogle said.
Even the auctioneer donated his time.
The whole thing was a leap of faith followed by a miracle, Replogle said.
Habitat had taken a step of faith in purchasing the piece of land on Tuck A Way Ridge Drive, Replogle said, adding that it cost more than they wanted to spend on a property.
They closed on the property on a Monday, wire transferred the funds on that Friday, and the auction was on Saturday.
The final and winning bid was the exact amount needed to cover the cost of the land.
The money was not out of Habitat’s account for more than 24 hours, Replogle said.
“God simply is showing us how to raise money,” she said.
“These are just some good people who care and want to do something good for the community and they partnered with us. Brown County is full of tremendous people.”
“It was just a tremendous gift.”
Last year the woodworkers built a structure for Grandview Cemetery, where they were also responsible for laying a foundation and roofing on the structure, Riebl said.
This year they wanted to simplify the project.
The cruck was built at Riebl’s property right on State Road 46 East, which Riebl said was a central location for people in the group to work, as well as for the auction to take place.
“And we upped our game a little bit and made it a more challenging structure,” Riebl said.
The cruck comes from the middle ages in England, and was a frame for “tithe barns,” where rents and tithes were stored.
Being a more traditional timber frame, it’s held together by wooden pegs and cut timbers.
After a bad storm and tornado in late May, the club started looking for fallen oak trees that were suitable for their project.
From Sweetwater Lake, to Tipton Lakes, towards Bloomington, the group picked up trees from all different areas, Riebl said, pulling them out of lakes and creeks.
Riebl said the work the club does is a combination of passion, love for a hobby, community work and engineering challenges to do good.
Now that this project is complete, they’re looking for more ideas and potential locations for upcoming structures.
“We certainly would like to build another structure next year, similar concept that could go at the Brown County Music Center or in the (Brown County State Park), or be auctioned off again,” Riebl said.
“We are open for ideas.”
‘It all came together’
Dove and Wayne Johnson have lived in Brown County for nearly three years, splitting their time between Indiana and Nashville, Tenn.
Wayne’s ancestors were some of the first Europeans to settle in Brown County, he said.
The couple is in music professionally, members of the seven-piece group the Brazilionaires in Tennessee.
Since dividing half of their time settled in Brown County, the Johnsons had talked about adding a picnic shelter to their 31-acre forest.
They just so happened to find out that the woodworkers were building such a structure that would be available for auction.
“It all just sort of came together,” Wayne said.
“We were happy to be able to bid on it and happy that we won.”
Wayne said they’d been looking for an opportunity to give back, and they found that what Habitat does is “amazing,” in providing homes for families.
“We’re aware that there is a need (for housing) here.”
“And it feels good to be able to (support) and have a piece of history in a way,” Dove said.
The Johnsons consider themselves “amateur conservationists,” Wayne said, and have done research to understand what their forest provides to the ecosystem.
They dedicated a sign on their property with what they learned: “This 31-acre Forest at JohnsonWood gives 465 tons of (oxygen) and absorbs 78 tons of (carbon dioxide) every year.”
Having a structure made from felled trees was in line with their vision to conserve, preserve and honor the land and natural resources.
Now, the cruck will be a gathering place on their property.
“We basically came (to Brown County) for the trees, so we were looking for a gathering place outside,” Wayne said.
Being an open frame structure, views of the property are able to be seen while gathering underneath.
“The land is really special to us,” Wayne said.
”I didn’t grow up here, but my dad used to bring us to visit kin. Dove and I started coming here renting cabins and visiting family cemeteries. We fell in love with the place. I feel really connected.”
Wayne said the cruck will accent their forest. Dove added that it’s not just a gathering place, but a type of art piece.
“We’re grateful we were able to (buy it), more than anything,” Wayne said.
“We were happy to keep it in Brown County.”
Invested in serving
Habitat is in an “unending quest” to secure affordable or donated land in Brown County for future homes, a BC Habitat press release following the auction said.
Currently, there are 16 partner families who are paying no-interest mortgages to BC Habitat for their homes.
The goal for 2023 is to build three homes, which Kirchhofer and Replogle both said is an “aggressive” goal.
Habitat is on the hunt for its third piece of land, now that it has secured the land on Tuck A Way Ridge Drive and a parcel in Helmsburg purchased earlier this year.
Habitat can also use volunteers, Kirchhofer said.
“We need people who want to do all sorts of things,” Kirchhofer said.
“There’s a job for everybody, even if you just want to make cookies.”
Kirchhofer said she wants the community to know that Habitat is invested in and cares about the community it serves.
“Our vision says that everybody deserves a decent place to live,” she said.
“That’s what we want. … Creating opportunities for families to move here. It’s a beautiful place to live. We can also build beautiful homes that are affordable for families.”
The Brush with Kindness program runs year-round, independent of other Habitat projects.
It serves to provide residents with solutions to “aging in place” issues, Kirchhofer said, like installing a safety bar in a bathroom or widening a door for a wheelchair or a walker.
Habitat is looking for leadership for its boards and committees as well as a construction director for builds, which will be a salaried position.
They’re also looking for people who would like to donate property or offer land purchases at a low cost.
“If somebody donated property, it’d offset the (total) cost,” she said.
“We had a hard time stepping into this because of the price, it was a step of faith.”
Replogle said that Habitat hopes the community is inspired by the creative gift of the woodworkers and more follow suit.
“Our hope is that the community sees the good work that we’re doing and the enthusiasm continues to grow and people continue to bring their gifts to the table, no matter what the gift is,” Replogle said.
“It takes all of us.”
Woodworkers club
The Brown County Woodworkers club started 18 years ago by a group of friends, several of whom were school teachers in Brown County. Each year they would drive up to Indianapolis together to attend the annual Woodworking Show at the fairgrounds.
One year on the drive home they had the great idea of starting a club which began with a dozen or so members. Today there are about 150 members from Brown County, Bloomington and Columbus.
The Brown County Woodworking Club has no officers and no dues, but is made of individuals passionate about the craft.
The club is organized and run by members volunteering to keep the group active and interesting, depending on each other for the club’s continued success. They meet once a month, usually on the first Wednesday and typically at the Brown County Library. Visitors are always welcome.
Partner with Habitat
Applications for potential partner families of a Habitat home in Brown County will be open from Dec. 15, 2022 through March 15, 2023. Information can be found at browncountyhabitat.org/apply-for-home or by calling the office at 812-988-4926.
