Click Here to take a peek inside the home
Janene Caywood was a founding member of the MPA and her husband, Milo McLeod, worked as an archaeologist on the Lolo National Forest until his retirement earlier this year.
“We expect great things from them continually,” said Kate Hampton, from the Montana Preservation Alliance. “We're just thrilled ... and excited to see what comes next because they've been just such an inspiration to all of us.”
Caywood and McLeod have worked across the state, helping to restore historic buildings and communities. The main goal of their work is to help people realize the value of those historic areas.
“We just try and engage as many people as possible to not look only on the aesthetic value of these places Š but the economic and tourism value as well,” Hampton said.
Throughout McLeod's career, he spent a lot of time working with the MPA, but one of his most notable contributions was his work leading the Forest Service's Passport in Time projects, which enlists volunteers from around the nation to preserve historic buildings on public lands.
Caywood has also contributed a lot to the MPA. She volunteers more than 100 hours to the organization every year and serves as a trustee for the Montana Historical Society.
“She's very involved locally and at the statewide level,” Hampton said. “She really has provided so much understanding in the cultural development of this state.”
But the real testament to their commitment to historic preservation is their home. The turn-of-the-century house in Missoula's historic McCormick district is really an example of the couple bringing their work home with them.
“They've always surrounded themselves with historic things and historic places. I don't think it would make a lot of sense for them to not live in a historic home,” Hampton said.
McLeod said that their passion for history and preservation is the reason they bought their 1912 home and have, for the past 23 years, worked to preserve its historic aspects.
“Our house is a continuum of commitment to historic preservation,” he said. “Whether I do it professionally for the Forest Service or Janene volunteers, we bring that same commitment to the house where we live.”
At the time the house was built, Missoula's University District was just budding. The Milwaukee railroad was coming through Missoula and the flood of 1908 had just wiped out the Higgins Avenue Bridge.
Since then, the house has gone through numerous revisions. When McLeod and Caywood bought the place, it had been a rental house for years. One family lived upstairs, while students rented out the five sleeping rooms in the basement.
“It was just a rental that nobody cared much about,” he said. “It had been a hippie house.”
Caywood said that when she and her husband moved in, they found evidence of at least four fires throughout the years.
“Why the place didn't burn down when it was a rental is a miracle,” she said.
They also found what McLeod called, “artifacts from the '60s” including drug paraphernalia and a “little baggie of dope.”
Since then, the couple has replaced a number of other 1960s relics in the home, including aluminum shutters and a kitchen that was in “rough shape.”
McLeod and Caywood have put a lot of work into the house.
“Historic preservation is not for the weak of heart,” Caywood said.
But the couple agrees that it's worth the effort.
“Historical buildings are kind of a nonrenewable resource,” McLeod said.
Caywood added, “This home is a very good example of turn-of-the-century craftsmanship. It would be a shame to lose that.”
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