WEST POINT — If one word can be used to describe Roger and Lisa Rhea”s marriage, along with the operation of Red Oak Farm and the couple”s effort to construct wooden structures, ”togetherness” would be a solid choice.
“I help him operate the farming equipment, and when we are building these wooden buildings, I help with the sawing and planing of the wood,” Lisa said.
“This is, and has been a family thing. It will continue to be,” Roger added.
The Rheas have been involved in creating wooden structures for more than 20 years, Roger said. It began when they built a playhouse for their daughter, Brittany, who was 8 at the time.
“She is 17, and the house is still on the place,” Roger said. “Lisa and Brittany painted the roof and windows after we finished building it.”
The Rheas build these wooden structures not just to be used as playhouses, but also to store things, and some are used for camp houses at deer camps.
“We build according to what the customer asks for. They call us and tell us what they want,” Roger explained. “The one I am working on now is going to be used as a camp house. It is going to have electrical outlets and a bathroom along with the one room that can used as a bedroom and living area.”
They can also build the units without insulation — just a plain wooden structure.
“There is no one set price. This one we”re working on costs $12,000, and the buyer is responsible for having it transported to his property,” he said.
Lisa and Roger describe the structures they build as something that resembles housing from the turn of the century.
“We try to make it as down home as possible,” Lisa said
Building these structures is not just between Lisa and Roger. Along with Brittany, the Rheas have a son, who is also named Roger.
“He is beginning to get interested in building. He gets some wood and some tools, and gets to work,” the elder Roger said.
The farming operation has been a part of the Rhea family for many years; they farm soybeans, hay and cattle.
“We work on these buildings when we cannot do farm work,” Roger said.
The Rheas average building at least three to four of these structures a year, and they rely on good old-fashioned word of mouth, with no media advertising.
“This is just through word of mouth. We build these mostly for people in the Golden Triangle and surrounding area,” Roger noted.
Other than buying windows — if the customer wants them — the buildings” materials come straight from the Rhea property.
“We use red cedar, the same kind you use to build a cedar chest. It is something that will last a long time and prevents insects and other kinds of damage,” Roger said.
Allen Baswell was previously a reporter for The Dispatch.
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