Published: November 22, 2009 07:56 am      

In Northern Living: Oh, yes, Carter Can!

TRAVERSE CITY -- Keeping a secret in a city the size of Traverse City can be tough -- especially when that secret is Carter Oosterhouse, the handsome star of HGTV's "Carter Can" and "Red Hot and Green."

So when the Traverse City native blew into town on a snowstorm last December to film a surprise makeover of the Traverse City Fire Department's aging Station 2, Fire Chief Jim Tuller had some quick thinking to do.

"I had to make up a story about how all the duty personnel had to get together for a department photo," said Tuller, who gathered employees out front. "When Carter and his crew came around the corner, one of our fire inspectors screamed like she was 12 years old."

The makeover, one of two Oosterhouse completed in February with the help of family, friends and local businesses, will be revealed Friday on the HGTV holiday special "Carter Comes Home." For a sneak preview of the project, read the story in today's Northern Living section »

-- Marta Hepler Drahos