Wednesday, May 14, 2008

With a little help from their friends

Burned out of their home, losing most of their possessions, Leo and Alice Montaño make a new start

Kenn Rodriguez News-Bulletin Staff Writer; krodriguez@news-bulletin.com

Los Chavez Drivers coming down Camino Los Chavez on Saturday slowed down repeatedly to take in the spectacle of a house becoming a home.

Ants who can carry several times their weight have nothing on the Montaño family and their friends who have shown up this Saturday to finish up work on the house Leo Montaño bought two and a half years ago.

"The whole house is coming back to life," says Leo Montaño, taking a break from working while rotary saws whine and family members work in the background.

Leo and his wife, Alice, have been living with one of their daughters since their two-story Los Chavez house burned down in January 2007.

Now, with an effort that would make Ty Pennington and his Extreme Home Makeover crew proud, the family is finishing up the job that Leo and his son, Victor, have been working on for more than two years - turning this old adobe house into a home.

"This was a haunted house before - I nicknamed it 'The Haunted House' and it stuck because it was scary and everyone laughed at my dad," said Leo and Alice's daughter, Theresa Lucero. "And my dad's done miracles. It's wonderful. It's awesome."

Victor said he and dad Leo have been working on the house since the fire. This is the final push, he said - three days worth of work in a day.

"Mom and Dad have been without a home for over a year now," Victor said. "My dad's been working on this place for almost two years, and it's finally coming together."

Leo said he bought the house - which they all estimate to be anywhere from 80 to 100 years old - as a "fixer-upper."

"He just bought it as something to work on," Victor said. "He passed by here all the time, saw that it was for sale and figured he'd buy it. Little did he know he was going to end up living here."

Leo Montaño said people laughed at him for buying the house.

"It was in bad shape," he said. "There were windows, but they were pretty old. I've had a lot of people tell me about this piece of property. And they didn't believe it. They said 'At your age, why are you going to go and do what you're doing? I don't think it'll happen.' But I believe what little knowledge I have in my head, and I'll make believers out of a lot of people."

On this Saturday, Leo and Victor have plenty of help. Leo's sons, Leonard and Michael, are here, as is daughter Emily. By Theresa Lucero's count, 20 people have been around helping since they started setting up at 7 a.m.

"It was just a house before now; we're trying to make it a home," she said. "It's mostly family here helping. There's people painting, putting in electrical outlets, lights, cleaning. We have barbecue going for people working. We're doing a lot of decorating, hanging mirrors, things that will make it their home. They'll almost have a home after today."

Theresa says everything in the house is new because Leo and Alice lost everything in the fire - everything but her dad's tools and a roll of carpeting that is now in one of the back bedrooms.

Several people have donated both items and their time. Brother Michael Montaño brought in most of the furniture.

While Leo knew all along about the finish of the project, Theresa said mom Alice had no idea the family was helping finish up the house. "I was shook up - I was so surprised," Alice said, brushing away tears of joy and choking up a bit. "It feels really good. We were very comfortable living with my daughter, but we need a place of our own. We really appreciate what everyone's done. It's really gratifying."

Theresa said it was very important to the family to give Leo and Alice a home to live in again.

"My dad's been independent all his life, and to depend on people for a place to stay while he was doing this has been a long process," she said.

Leo said he really wanted to be more help - he's limited by an injured left elbow he suffered in a car accident in December.

"Our family has helped us out a lot, and we have a lot of friends and they all pitch in," he said. "I have a saying: 'You need to give a little to receive a little.' If you think you're going to want everything for yourself, you'll get no place. You've got to give a little."

Judging by the scene at Leo and Alice's new home Saturday, they've given a lot to friends and family as they receive the gift of a new home to live in.

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