On Friday, June 20th, 2025, my brother Charles, his wife Dominique, and their 2 sons, Tristan & Eli, were on my mom’s property, cleaning up Charles’ mill yard. At about 1:00 pm, my nephew Eli came running into the house to inform us that the barn was on fire. We ran outside to find that not only was it on fire, but it was already completely consumed by the biggest, angriest structure fire any of us had ever seen. Within moments, multiple fire department crews arrived, but it was too late. There was nothing we could do but watch my mom’s barn, which had played backdrop and host to over 20 years worth of family memories, as well as 10+ years of my brother Charles’ business dreams and hard work, go up in smoke. A faulty wire on an air compressor was to blame.

This barn was so much more than a barn. It oversaw countless bonfire gatherings & singalongs, and was the location of so many family gatherings, from Halloween parties for all the grandkids, to dance parties, and much more. It had even been the sacred space chosen for Charles & Dominique’s wedding.

This barn was an important part of my mother, Lucille Overstreet’s property, and of my family’s heritage. But for my brother, Charles, it was so much more than all of that. It was where Charles developed his love for woodworking, while learning his craft on my late father’s equipment. It was there that Charles conceived of and built his dream business, The Florida Woodsmith, so that he could make it possible for woodworkers and artists to find affordable, locally sourced, artisan quality hardwoods. It was the space where he had spent over 10 years working to build the workshop of his dreams. It was where he had made his art and his dreams a reality. He had large amounts of the most beautiful milled lumber, as well as turning blanks and knife kits and so much more. He was building a dream, and his whole family was involved. And it was beautiful.

And now it’s gone. All the lumber and the products that were to provide his family’s income, gone. Tens of thousands of dollars worth of equipment and tools, gone.

Most importantly, everyone is safe. We are so blessed where it matters most. Things can be replaced, new memories will be made.

But in the meantime, Charles’ immediate family is left with no income for the foreseeable future. Fortunately, one of his sawmills, his kiln, and his bobcat are on the other side of the property, and are safe. From this he will rebuild. But it’s going to take some time to generate enough product to pay his bills and feed his family. And some tools will need to be replaced in order to get that up and running. For this, we humbly ask our community to step in however possible, and help lift his family up and carry them through these hard times.

Replacing all that was lost is truly too big of an ask. So we will focus on what is needed right now, which is help paying the operational costs of the mill until enough product can be produced to replace the income lost, as well as help paying their personal bills and feeding their family. We’d also like to come up with a little to put towards rebuilding my mother’s barn, and hopefully even a little towards replacing some of the most important of the equipment and tools lost.

The first $7500 will go straight to Charles & Dominique for the above mentioned reasons. After that, any additional money donated will be put towards rebuilding a structure, and replacing tools & equipment.

If you are able to help in any way, we are incredibly grateful. No amount is too small. Even just sharing this fundraiser can be a huge help. Thank you so much for all of the support and love that you all have shown my family during this time. It means the world to all of us. From the bottom of our hearts, THANK YOU!