Newsletter August 2001

My wife, Kathy, and I went to Kenya and Tanzania recently to photograph animals and birds. I have dreamed of Africa since I was a little boy reading Tarzan comic books. I already knew (and remembered) that the Swahili word for elephant is "tembo" --- and for lion is "simba". I knew the wildlife would be fantastic and that the scenery would be spectacular.

What I didn’t know was how wonderful and friendly the people are. Sam Muinde was born in Kenya and came to Oshkosh as a high school exchange student in 1963. He attended college classes with my wife at UW-O in 1964. His primary residence all these years has been in Oshkosh but he has maintained his Kenyan roots. Recently retired, he is now doing much more to help improve the economy of his family’s village. We visited a girl’s boarding school 50 miles east of Nairobi, Kenya. This school was built on land donated 25 years ago by Sam’s father. The initial construction was funded partly by Oshkosh residents. The visit was quite a moving experience. Sam then took us to the site where he is building a new house. It is an American design but is being built with materials and methods available in his Kenyan village. Fascinating!

In another part of Kenya we visited a Masaii village. Here the chief’s son talked about their lifestyle and the residents entertained us with traditional dance and song. The Masaii tribe is one of over 100 tribes in Africa and the one that has changed the least over the century and a half of European and American involvement on the continent. I was free to shoot pictures anywhere I wanted but it was the ability to sit down and talk with some of the village inhabitants that was so special. They live in huts constructed of mud and sticks. They herd cattle in the same way they did centuries ago. The men still dress in bright red robes. The younger men have been educated in school, spoke English quite well and were quite interested in who we were and where we came from. It reminds me a little of the difficult transition facing the Amish people in this country, with the young people wondering what comes next in their lives.

Build With The Leader…Again!

An interesting trend became apparent to us recently…about 12% of our contracts this year have been repeat customers. That is, several homeowners have come back and asked us to build their next home. Each homeowner discovered that the experience of living in their first Andrew Home was all the "homework" they needed to do.

"We have had more people come through our old home--appraisers, inspectors, the radon people and they all rave about Andrew Homes from installation of well into home, the finish work, the construction of, etc. So, needless to say, we are so happy and excited you are building our new home."

~Jean and Reg DeBroux, as they prepared for the sale of their first Andrew Home and are now building a new Andrew Home

If you’ve toured our model homes, you are probably familiar with our Quality Mark Features. These features exceed the standard features of all or most of our competition. Two recent additions to this long list are a media distribution box and garage floor drain. Installed by Suess Electronics, the "media panel" is a central termination point for all low voltage wiring within the home, including category 5 wiring for telephone and computer, coax cable for satellite or cable TV and custom speaker wire. Tim Suess, owner of Suess Electronics, adds, "The media panel is a good way to manage existing and emerging technologies in your Andrew Home and ensure its long-term low voltage viability." Homeowners find the garage floor drain useful in removing all that melting snow from their vehicles and snowmobiles. We’re always trying to make living easier for our homeowners!

In Oshkosh, we have 2 wooded lots available. One lot is in the Woodland Creek Subdivision and the other is located off Leonard Point Road. Phase 3 of the Wyldewood Subdivision in Algoma opened earlier this year. We have 8 lots available here, some cul-du-sac, while others have tree lines along their back borders. North Shore Preserve, a brand new development situated up against a nature preserve that runs out to Lake Butte des Morts, will be available this fall. We have 3 lots here…call us!!

In Appleton, we have just a few lots left in the Marshall Heights and Thornbrook Estates Subdivisions. Bentwood Estates, located in Grand Chute, also has 3 wooded lots available.

We are very excited about the upcoming availability of some beautiful wooded and ravine lots in southwest Green Bay. We also have 2 lots in Thornberry Creek Estates; one with a view of the fairway and a pond and one actually on the golf course.

Visit us during the Parade of Homes in Appleton, which begins August 18 and runs through the 26^th. Our Parade Home this year features our new Jefferson model…if you went to the Parade of Homes in Fond du Lac last month, you’re already familiar with this floorplan. We sold this home in Appleton halfway through construction, so the new homeowners were able to make some decisions regarding the flooring in some rooms and the layout of the kitchen. They also chose to add built-in shelves in the family room.

The Showcase of Homes in Green Bay runs September 15 through the 23^rd. We have two homes on display here…one of which was also sold during the early stages of construction. Both of these 5,000+ sq. ft. homes are floorplans Andrew Homes has never built before, so we are excited to introduce them at this event. Look for creative features like 2-sided fireplaces, curved balcony rails, barrel vault ceilings, a special "master retreat", 2-person ceramic shower, unique beam ceiling configuration, cedar-lined closet, and more!

We are seeing some surprising new trends with the increase in contract, custom homes we are building. You might think that "empty nesters" would build a smaller, ranch style home, but… just the opposite. They’re building 2-story, 3,000 sq. ft. homes. So if you’re contemplating building bigger, but your family is getting smaller, you’re not alone! Also, finished basements have become a "must-have" for many buyers. We have started adding finished basements to our newer model homes to accommodate this demand.

Go to www.AndrewHomes.com to view the latest and greatest additions to our website.  Our "Lots for Sale" section provides locations, maps, prices and sizes of lots available.

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