EVANSTON — Two local senior citizens have each spent many years working to save historical landmarks, buildings and artifacts in the Evanston area. Jim Davis and Shelly Horne, both in their 80s, continue to dedicate countless volunteer hours to preserving local history for future generations.

Both men were born and raised in Evanston, both are graduates of Evanston High School and both have left Evanston as adults to work in other states and both returned to Evanston in middle-age to work and serve the community.

After his high school graduation in 1953, Horne worked for the Union Pacific Railroad from 1953 until 1960 as a telegrapher. In 1954, Horne joined the U.S. Army and served one year in Korea. In 1958, he earned his 1^st class radio telephone license and went to work for KLUK Evanston radio station until he moved to Utah to attend the University of Utah and work for KBBC radio in Bountiful, Utah and for KWIC radio in Salt Lake City, Utah. He also attended Stevens Henager Business School and received an Associate of Arts in Accounting in 1961.

After marriage to Deann Gayle Taylor of Bridger Valley, the couple lived in Evanston, California, Washington and Texas where Horne worked in a variety of accounting jobs before returning to Evanston in 1992. Then in his 60s, Horne joined the Uinta County Veteran’s Board, became chairman and along with the other board members was instrumental in raising funds to purchase the “Fallen Comrade” statue in front of the county complex. Horne found a sculptress, Cynthia Hailes from Logan, Utah who already had a model of the statue the board all liked. After raising $50,000 by holding events, mud races, raffles and more the WWII brass statue commemorating those who served in WWII and Korea was placed at the county complex.

Horne has served on the Uinta Bank board of directors since 2005. He also wrote a humor column for the Uinta County Herald for the period of one year and later published all 50 columns into a book.

In 2004 at age 69, he was appointed to the city council to fill a term of someone who moved out of the ward and served until 2007. In 2008, at age 73, he was chosen to be the consul for the Wyoming Lincoln Highway Association which has one consul representative in every state in the U.S.  Horne was chosen as chair for the National Lincoln Highway Association Conference which was held in Evanston that same year.

“That conference was huge and people came from all over the nation,” Horne said. “They were amazed with our Roundhouse and the railyards. We took them on tours of the old Lincoln Highway. The conference was held in the Machine Shop over the span of 3 days and was an economic benefit to the city.”

Similarly, after graduating from Evanston High School in 1962, Davis attended the University of Wyoming and then Arizona State University where he earned a degree in Business Administration in May 1967. He went to work for JC Penny at their regional accounting office in Salt Lake City. In September of 1970, Davis went to work for Allstate Insurance in Salt Lake City and was later promoted to work in Colorado, California and Illinois.

In August of 1984, Davis, his wife Bonnie and two children Brian and Susan moved back to Evanston and Davis went to work for the city and worked there until he retired on January 3, 2014. He and his wife opened the home and gift shop, Home Décor in 1986 and it remains open today under the management of their son Brian and his wife Stephanie.

On September 13,1985, Gene Martin who was mayor at the time managed to get Union Pacific Railroad to donate the old abandoned depot to the city. When Davis went to work for the city in 1987, as urban renewal agency director, he was put in charge of doing something with the old depot.

“Evanston native, David Haines an architect, retired and moved back to Evanston at that time and he volunteered to help me with the depot,” Davis said. “He taught me a lot about specs and buildings and it was great working with him. We finished the renovation toward the end of 1989. At that same time the Roundhouse was on my mind a lot.”

Davis said he got the historic preservation bug in 1992, when he attended a market fair in Denver for his store, Home Décor. While there he met Mary Humstone, with the National Trust for Historic Preservation (NTHP) and together with her, Davis formed a Heritage Corridor called, “Tracks Across Wyoming” which went from Pinebluffs to Cokeville. The two kept the corridor going for several years. In 1996, Davis was asked to serve as one of two from Wyoming, on the board of advisors for NTHP. He served on that board for 9 years and was chairman for the Mountain Plains Region.

In 1992, when Dennis Ottley was Mayor the Evanston Historic Preservation Commission (HPC) was formed by ordinance 92 – 18 of the city council, for the purpose of coordinating with other entities of government and receiving funds for the preservation of historic resources within the city of Evanston.

However, since HPC was part of the city and could not be used by donors as a tax deduction, Davis decided they needed to form a non-profit organization as an arm of HPC solely to funnel raised funds through. In 1998, he formed Roundhouse Restoration Inc. commonly known as RRINC, a nonprofit 501©3 organization.

During this same time, Davis served on the commission as a city staff member from 1992 to 2014.  After retiring from the city position, he joined HPC and was elected chair in 2017 and served in that office until December 31, 2024, when he reapplied and was turned down by the mayor due to his age of 80.

In 2018, Horne who was now 83 years of age, applied to be on the Evanston Historic Preservation Commission and ultimately served as vice-chair under Jim Davis as chair, for six years, until the end of 2024 when the current mayor deemed him to be too old at 89 years and did not reappoint him to the commission.

During the years that Davis served on HPC, he was trying to figure out how to save the Roundhouse, in 2002, he met Dave Freudenthal who was in Evanston campaigning for the office of Governor. Freudenthal asked Davis about the Roundhouse and wanted a tour. When Freudenthal was elected Governor, he later appointed Davis as a board member of the Wyoming Main Street Program. At the same time, he appointed Davis to serve on the Wyoming Business Council (WBC) and the legislature confirmed it. Davis served on the WBC from 2003 until 2008.  This office enabled Davis to work with the state agency to apply for grants and federal funding for the Roundhouse and railyards. The Urban Renewal Ball that once was held annually helped to raise funds for the restoration.

The Machine Shop was restored in 2004, the railyards and the first section of the Roundhouse were completed in 2009. That year, the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) conference was held in Evanston with a huge turnout of people from all over the state. Davis said at the time of the SHPO conference the superintendent’s office at the railyards was deteriorating and people attending begged the city to save it. HPC and the city decided to save it.

“They were really impressed with what we had accomplished with the Roundhouse, depot square and downtown Evanston,” Davis said. “During my many years working with the city, I was fortunate to have worked with eighty plus volunteers; city residents really got behind the projects. The renovation of the superintendent’s office was completed with an all-volunteer effort, no city funds went into the restoration of that office. Many area contractors including Chuck Straw and Rick Henniger, Myers and Anderson architects, the Rotary club, Gary and Ann Cazin with members of their LDS Ward and Urban Renewal Agency board members all volunteered their time. Pacific Corps donated $50,000 and the Wyoming Cultural Trust Fund donated a grant of $25,000. It was wonderful.”

During Horne’s and Davis’s tenures on HPC, they were dedicated to getting the steam engine 4420, which was residing in a local park, moved to the Roundhouse where it could be restored. Horne and Davis met with Mayor Kent Williams to see if the city would allow the move.

“The mayor was in favor of the move at that time because there had been complaints of children playing on it and falling off and getting hurt,” Horne said. “Later, he seemed to have reservations about the engine being in the Roundhouse.”

In 2020, moving the engine into the Roundhouse, which cost $27,000 and was paid for entirely by HPC, the restoration of the engine is being done entirely by volunteer workers and paid for through donations and fundraising on the part of HPC and RRINC.

Another project that Davis, Horne and HPC members were instrumental in getting started is the weeding and cleaning of the Wyoming State Hospital historic cemetery involving volunteers from various churches and other interested parties.

Though no longer serving on HPC, Davis and Horne are both still committed to serving the community of Evanston and have proven their dedication and love for its history.

Horne was elected president of RRINC in January 2025. He said the immediate major concern of RRINC is getting the water tower moved to the railyards.  HPC volunteer Rick Eskelson, another senior citizen, has worked long and hard on that project and finally succeeded in getting the city council to dedicate $84,000 for the foundation for the water tower to stand on.

He is also committed to saving the historic Wyoming state hospital buildings and is attempting to work with Frank Siller’s, “Tunnel to Towers Foundation” in the hopes of generating his interest in using the buildings for housing for homeless veterans and first responders.

“When you are 89 years old, losing sight with macular degeneration and your age destroys the ability for physical activities it’s sad, but I do what I can,” Horne said. “My grandmother always told me to take pictures of everything in town because everything changes. We need to respect the existence of what was and save significant things so we can tell our descendants; I saved a place for you.”

Davis said even though he is not on HPC any longer, he will still work to preserve history. He is planning to work with the local VFW to help them obtain funding for a planned mural on their building; he continues to work with the statewide preservation plan; and with the Friends of the Bear River State Park to install and dedicate a Lincoln Highway kiosk Davis was instrumental in obtaining a Wyoming Cultural Trust fund grant to purchase.

“Not everything is worth saving but what is worth saving is everything,” Davis said. “I want to thank all the many volunteers that helped me during my preservation journey.