A CAT TALE Bobcat story is a winner

By CYNTHIA VINARSKY
VINDICATOR BUSINESS WRITER
GROVE CITY, Pa. -- Bobcat helped John Scheafnocker build his custom-crafted log home. Now the North Dakota-based equipment manufacturer has given the Grove City, Pa., man the equipment he needs to run his new business as well.
Scheafnocker's essay on how he used a Bobcat skid-steer loader to build his 1,700-square-foot home on Jervis Road won him a new, limited edition Bobcat loader, the grand prize in a Bobcat Co. contest that drew 30,000 entries.
"I was shocked and I was honored," Scheafnocker said after accepting delivery of the deluxe loader, valued at about $30,000, Thursday. With a 56-horsepower diesel engine and the capacity to lift 1,850 pounds, the machine has gold-trimmed wheel rims and tailgate, an enclosed heated and air-conditioned cabin and a keyless start security system.
Reason for contest: Bobcat sponsored a contest to commemorate the production of 500,000 skid-steer loaders. Customers were asked to write about their toughest job, and entries ranged from complex construction chores to animal rescues.
Chuck Hoge, chief executive, said the tough job descriptions were impressive, and the choice of winners was difficult. The company awarded 500 prizes.
Scheafnocker bought his first Bobcat loader at Leppo Equipment on North Meridian Road, Youngstown, and used the machine to do a multitude of building tasks, from trenching for the electrical lines to rolling the driveway to boring post holes to moving debris.
A building contractor by trade, he said he designed the house to suit the logs he'd cut from his own 30-acre property. His budget was $35 per square foot, about half the average residential construction cost, and his log home plan included 33 windows, a sunroom, a dry-walled interior and a 21/2-car garage.
"Prayer, water, and 10- to 14-hour days is what it took: six to seven days a week," Scheafnocker wrote in his contest entry. "Clearly, entirely too much work for one man to tackle, but I did it."
Help with roof: He worked alone until it was time to put the roof on, and just as he was wondering how he would proceed a teen-age boy in his neighborhood came over to help. "That's just the way the good Lord works," Sheafnocker said. "He showed up just in time, and he worked with me all summer."
Scheafnocker said he opened his sawmill operation about a year ago on the same wooded property where his log home sits, and he'll be using the new Bobcat to harvest 30 acres of hardwood. The company, Timber Trails, also specializes in buying and salvaging wood from old buildings that are being demolished.
Dan LeBeau, a salesman at the Youngstown Leppo dealership, said the store staff was nearly as excited as Scheafnocker about his grand prize win. "The guys at the shop kept trying to get him to write the story," he said. "We had a feeling it was a winner."
vinarsky@vindy.com