Cedar Log and Lumber comes back strong after May 7 fire

On May 7, 2007, the business that took Dave Storms years to form, Cedar Log & Lumber in Millersburg, looked as if it had gone up in smoke after a devastating fire destroyed five buildings on the property and left 34 jobs in jeopardy. Now, just four months later, Dave and his hardworking crew have brought Cedar Log & Lumber back to almost 100 percent operating power ? they are cleaning up, setting up, and ready to get back down to business. Dry weather conditions and lumberyard material were two key ingredients in what would be a crucial blow to the business back in May. A fire from a small electric motor running a conveyor got out of control. Five men onsite could not contain the blaze, which soon took on a life of its own ? carving a wicked path through the lumberyard, destroying anything in its path.

?I WAS home, and was just sitting down to dinner when one of my semi drivers called and asked if I knew the place was on fire,? said Dave. ?There was nothing I could do. We are rebuilding now ? it?s been slow coming back, but I never lost any customers. I think everyone thought I would cut and run after the fire, but that really wasn?t in the cards. It wasn?t the time to shut it down.? Presently, Dave and his crew, including manager Joe Kuznicki, foreman Carl Schleben, and office manager Annette Dombrowski, are awaiting the arrival of new equipment to replace what was lost. The business was given final approval recently from the insurance company to clean up what the fire left, and soon construction will begin on new buildings.

?I hired back eight guys right after the fire,? said Dave. ?Pretty soon we were up to 20, and now we have 28 employees back. I will have to hire two more soon, so we are almost completely back. It took everyone to bring it back ? the list goes on and on. I?ve got some good guys out there.?

When the fire hit, many area businesses headed out to Cedar Log & Lumber to help, whether it was serving up food to volunteer firefighters, or to bring large trucks used for moving lumber out of the fire?s path. ?We had many others who came out and helped,? said Dave. ?No one ordered them to, no one asked them to ? they just came and helped.?

CEDAR LOG & Lumber is not Dave?s first business, but it does help define his dedication to work. He was born the eldest of two sons to Esther and Milo Storms and raised in the Rainy Lake area of Millersburg. As many men in the Presque Isle County area, Dave took a position sailing on the Great Lakes for the Bradley Fleet, as well as U.S. Steel. He was a captain of the tugboats for about nine years, and worked as second mate on the freighters.

?I sailed on the Carl D. Bradley and the Munson,? said Dave. ?If they hadn?t sold the tugs, I would probably still be out there ? I kind of liked it.? While Dave was sailing, his brother Dean started Storms Ice Company in Rogers City. Eventually Dave would join Dean back on shore.

?Dean started the ice company, and I became a partner,? said Dave. ?We employed about 30 kids every summer. Most of those we had from about the tenth grade right through college. I keep bumping into them ? you try to hang onto names, but it?s hard. It?s kind of nice when they come up and are happy to see you.? It was an employee of Dave?s who first suggested a cedar log business to Dave, and all these years later, Dave has been happy for that suggestion.

?I HAD a guy working for me who thought log homes would be the greatest thing since sliced bread,? said Dave, ?and he was right. Everybody thought (log homes) would go away in about 10 years, but they didn?t.? Dave then found the property in Millersburg where Cedar Log & Lumber is currently located. It had just what he would need ? it was zoned industrial, and had enough power and gas supply. Dave started his cedar business, and eventually built it up to 34 employees, including his brother Dean, who drives truck outside of the Great Lakes area.

Dean, who moved back to Millersburg with his wife

Joanie, also gives much of his time back to Millersburg. He served on the board of review, and is the current township supervisor. He is the Millersburg VFW commander, and belongs to the Masons of Rogers City, among several other organizations. In celebration of what the Storms brothers have done for the Millersburg community, both were honored with the title of Grand Marshal during this past weekend?s Millersburg Homecoming Celebration. Cedar Log & Lumber has shipped lumber as far as San Francisco, California and Long Island, New York. And if Dave has it his way, it will continue to operate business as usual.

?This has been quite the experience,? said Dave. ?My trailer and my boat did not come out all summer, and they probably still won?t.? Cedar Log & Lumber is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. until 4:30 p.m., and on Saturdays from 8 a.m. until noon. For more information, call (989) 733-2676.