I attended Horicon High School in Horicon, Wisconsin. We were known as the Horicon Marshmen - pretty dorky, I know, but we had some pretty good athletic teams during my high school career. I graduated in 1971.

I then went to a junior college called WSU-Fond du Lac in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. At the time, Wisconsin had 2 separate systems - the UW system and the WSU system which later merged. I took basic college classes and lots of art classes but after only a year and a half I had run out of classes I could take toward my degree so it was time to move on.

I chose UW-Stout in Menomonie, Wisconsin because they had a growing reputation as a good art school. They were mostly known for Industrial Arts and Hotel/Restaurant Management early on. I enjoyed the area and the school greatly and graduated with a BS degree in Art in May of 1975.

I looked at all of my early jobs as an education of sorts too! When I started at Wisconsin Improvement company to help pay for my college education I had no idea that I would learn so much about construction. Though roofing was a main part of the business, there were any number of home improvement projects that I got to help with. I have applied that 'education' into designing and building one house from the ground up. As you can see here a little weekend project can really increase the value of a home. Thanks Vern and John!