Flames Extinguished Not Their Dreams

The Home of Willie and Emily Ruchert in Washington State.

Photo courtesy of Willie and Emily Ruchert of Washington. The Ruchert’s home and nearly constructed log home were leveled in a forest fire. Their American flag waving among the flames survived the fire symbolizing their spirit to press forward.

Willie Ruchert grew up in Washington State where he spent many wonderful leisurely hours at the family cabin situated on a ridge in the Blue Mountains. Willie and Emily met and fell in love while in college. Emily was interested in architecture at the time. The two eventually married and had two children. Billy is 4 years older than his sister Elizabeth. They acquired a 5 acre lot near the family cabin on the Ridge where they set up temporary residence in a single wide mobile home. Emily had always wanted to live in a log cabin, so the search began for an affordable log home package they could build themselves. Their search ended with Coventry Log Homes. The Riverside model appealed to them as a starting point. They customized the floor plans by adding large diagonal windows and also gave it a full walk-out basement.

When construction began in August 2005, their family, friends and neighbors gave their time and expertise over long weekends with the reasonable idea that the project would be completed in no time at all. They got so far as to stack all the logs except for the peak. One fateful day an ill placed sledge hammer fell from its precarious position and landed on Willie’s head. The mishap called for a visit to the local emergency room where they were sent to another hospital an hour away for tests. While there, a call came in on their cell phone. A family member relayed the immediate evacuation orders from local authorities. Their family was able to grab a few items and whisk their children and two black labs to safety before their dream home and trailer containing all their possessions was destroyed in the School Canyon Forest Fire that swept over 50,000 acres.

Needless to say this was a devastating set back. However the buoyant enthusiasm of youth and a log home dream was on their side. Coventry staff did what they could to get another complete package delivered to their site as quickly as possible. There was a lot of clean-up work, a storage shed and a garage needed to be built. They temporarily outfitted the garage to house their family in while they were building the log home. Again the family, friends and neighbors came out in droves to help them build the Riverside model. The roof was the only item they contracted out. With the luxury of hindsight they made one change, they added an extra window to the master bedroom. They relied on Coventry’s technical assistance service during its construction to factor in a laundry room and the changes that incurred.

Willie works fulltime for the County Road Department while Emily works full time for the government in the Farm Service Division. Emily also handles the finances for a daycare she and a friend established to ensure that their own childcare needs were provided for. They both enjoy and are active in snowmobiling as a recreational outlet for their entire family. Though Willie got the snowmobile bug and revels in restoring vintage snowmobiles and collecting snowmobile memorabilia which he has showcased in the walk-out basement. One of the ways in which he has showcased his passion is in the bar they built. The bar base is fashioned from the charred remains of Coventry Log Home logs which had been covered and somewhat protected during the fire. The bar top is a glass covered shadowbox which creatively displays some of the less sizeable pieces of his collection. With their various activities and responsibilities the finish work is coming along less hurriedly than the homes framing.

Emily likes the structural details like the beams and windows. For this reason the loft which is her office space is her favorite room as it gives her views of the angles and parts of the home that showcase all the best elements. At night she can see the campus lights illuminating from the college, an hour away, where she and Willie met and began their life together.

Coventry executives were moved by the plight of the Ruchert family and appreciated their product loyalty therefore they were honored to contribute 50 fast growing White Pines to the Rucherts in an effort to re-establish tree growth in their area. The healthy bare root 6-12 inch seedlings were shipped by the National Arbor Day Foundation, of which Coventry is a member.

Though the Rucherts have seen quite a few trees sprouting up naturally, they nevertheless have been planting new trees on their five acre lot every year. They have plans to put in a drip system to give their trees the best chance of survival. The task of replacing even a fraction of the trees they lost is a big job for two people with full time jobs and two young children, Billy age eight and Elizabeth four. The fire had done more than burn down their home and future dream home but it had also burned down their view. Before the fire they could not see one neighbor whereas post-fire views revealed a half dozen or so homes. Another unexpected result of the fire is the effect of the elements of weather. Without the trees the winds can now create snow drifts of incredible proportions. They look forward to the day when the trees will once again provide a protection and privacy barrier. In the meantime they have a daily reminder of how thankful they are that every person and pet had been led to safety during the fire. In a note to Coventry staff Emily wrote: “The story of our home is not one of tragedy, but of our values, hopes, struggles, blessings, blood, sweat, tears, joys and memories. It is where we plan to stay until we end our time on this earth.”

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