Woods Bay icon: Whitefish native buys tipi building, upgrade plans are in the works

Everyone who has driven through Woods Bay has seen it. The iconic tipi has likely attracted passersby for as long as it’s been in existence.

Shawn and Jean Peretto purchased the icon, along with the adjacent house and garage, last year and have plans to upgrade all three.

Shawn Peretto, who grew up in Whitefish, remembers stopping at the tipi in the 1970s when he was a child.

Finley Point resident Randy Neumann is getting involved too. He wants to help restore the tipi building. “I used to come here in the ‘50s when my grandfather delivered milk,” he said. “I still have a picture in my mind of a restaurant.” The building also served as a curio shop through the years, the Perettos said.

“Our dream is to refurbish it,” Jean Peretto said. The couple live in Stevensville where Shawn works as a building contractor. Their first priority is to stabilize the house and garage, but they are willing to accept help from anyone who wants to assist with the tipi building. “We’re trying to get it livable,” Shawn said. This includes putting a new roof on the garage.

When the couple purchased the home, “Our brains went wild with all the potential possibilities,” Jean said.

The Perettos purchased the property because they viewed it as “a good Western Montana value,” Shawn said.

The tipi building needs a lot of work, which was evident during a Saturday morning tour after the Perettos drove up from the Bitterroot Valley. Shawn noted that a drunk driver struck the building a few years ago.

Neumann researched the half-acre tract of land at the county courthouse in Polson. “I believe it was built as a playhouse for the kids” of Conrad and Elma Peterson in the 1950s, he said.

Later owners included Melroy and Margie Medhus and Jack Rickard. The Perettos purchased it in October from the estate of Patricia Ann Haugo, who died Jan. 2, 2011.

Neumann organized a fundraiser for restoration of the tepee at The Raven Sept. 22 from 2-4 p.m.

Those who would like to help can call Neumann at 273-1888 or email peretto@dishmail.net.