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 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.
