A Hotbed of Volunteers

By Larry Vila

Our first Spotlight City feature on Montpelier was published in IDAHO magazine’s December 2003 issue. Here’s  a contemporary look at the town.

My meeting with the real estate agent was at ten on a fall morning in 2010. There was plenty of time for a couple of cups of coffee and breakfast. I opened my motel room door, took a deep breath, and said aloud, “Nothing like clean mountain air.”

When I pulled up to a converted house next to Montpelier City Hall, the agent was just unlocking the door. I declined another cup of coffee and we decided I would follow her.

We looked at several houses and lots in the area and then drove roughly ten miles west of town on Highway 36. She stopped about a hundred yards up a driveway.

As I got out of my truck, I was immediately awestruck by the view of the Cache National Forest a thousand yards to the west. I took a deep breath and said, “This… is…. it.”

It took me the next four years to cross off the item on my bucket list called, “Build a House by Yourself.”

During those years, many local businesses helped me to fulfill that dream. One company “customized” their equipment rental rates for me. Another let me order material in bulk and stored it for me, delivering it as needed. It seemed that most of the people with whom I came in contact greeted me as if I were an old friend.