- [Announcer] This Backroads of Montana Special is made possible with production support from, the Greater Montana Foundation.

Encouraging communication on issues, trends and values of importance to Montanans.

The Big Sky Film Grant and the University of Montana.

(circus like music) - From the beautifully restored Rialto Theater in downtown Deer Lodge, Montana, welcome to the 25th anniversary of the Backroads of Montana.

I'm William Marcus.

- And I'm John Twiggs one of the program, producers.

William, we can't waste any time.

Let's see who's on the red carpet.

(crowds talking) - Ah, Radasha is here - We're with Yvonne Gritzner a long time supporter of Montana PBS.

- I want to say hello to Michelle Robinson.

- Do you think this is actually more glamorous than the Oscars?

- Well, it's... certainly.

And Montana is the only place to be.

- I'd like to welcome Bob Maffit who was in an early show.

And are you still taking care of antrillos?

- I still do.

- William we're here with the Rolff family and I'm just so excited that we're here.

Especially with Katie Rolff.

If everybody will remember that she was featured in one of our stories.

I can't believe it was 11 years ago.

And Katie, I understand you're still making Katie's Cookies.

- I am, I am.

- Although I'm a little upset because Katie doesn't look like she's aged at all.

And the rest of us are... - I'm fifty-two.

- Get out.

- I am, I'm fifty-two.

- I'm never going to believe that.

- What was it like to see your story on Backroads?

- I was really thrilled.

And especially to see the kids.

- [Off Camera Man] It's great to see everyone.

And it looks as though the show's about to start.

- Folks have settled into their seats.

And we are just about ready to get started.

We've invited friends and fans of the show to celebrate with us tonight, the 25th anniversary of the Backroads of Montana.

- We always knew, John, that we would do this show.

And we thought, well, we can all sit around and talk about how great we are.

Or - Which we do a lot of.

- Or we could go out and ask viewers what they thought of Backroads.

Why do they keep watching the show?

So this summer we went to Farmer's Markets across Montana.

We asked folks what's kept them watching literally for 25 years.

- Yeah.

And we went through all the episodes.

We've got some clips as well, that we'll see later on tonight.

Some stories, examples that are still making a difference, which is great.

We have a great compilation of words of wisdom from people who've been on the show through the years.

- Lots of those.

- Yes.

That was hard to narrow that down.

So it is going to be a lot of fun.

We've got a great looking audience.

We are tremendously overdressed for the occasion.

But we're still all excited to be here.

And I think we're just about ready to get started.

Everybody's got their popcorn.

Hopefully you've got a snack there at home.

So, what does everybody in the audience think?

I think we're ready to roll here.

- Let's go, let's get started.

(crowd cheers) - The 25th Anniversary, Backroads of Montana, enjoy.

(car driving) (lively music) (lively music) (lively music) (lively music) (lively music) - Hey everybody, it's Ray Ekness.

Gus Chambers right there with the little camera.

We're here in Billings, Montana.

- The reason I watch it is that I, I really enjoy those little nuggets of history and of Americana and the, just the individuals that you have on the show because it reminds me of where I grew up.

- And there's always a story.

I think the best part about Backroads is, wherever you see it there's a story that comes to light.

- I mean, you get to see things that are uniquely Montana.

From like, things that my grandfather remembered to things that my daughter will remember.

- Cause you always go to a town that I've never heard of or I have heard of it, but I've never been there.

And it's just so fascinating.

And you always find the perfect person to talk to.

- But what is time to a pig?

- I don't care if it's in Circle.

I don't care if it's Lavina, Rapleje, Broadus.

It doesn't matter.

A lot of those small towns have lost a lot of their, their personality.

And so Backroads of Montana brings back the personality.

- Eh!

- Yay!

- It's kind of fun being a bag lady.

(laughter) - I like, what's over the mountain.

And I liked the idea that you go to these little towns and the history of the towns is what, what I think is neat.

- We watch because it really helped us settle into Montana being home for us.

And we fell in love with the terrain, but then Backroads gave us a chance to fall in love with it people.

- [Narrator] Well, here we are.

This is the Backroads group.

We've been together for quite a few years now.

It's funny to look at these pictures.

Not just because we're goofy, but the truth is, we're almost never together for a Backroads shoot.

We normally go out separately to gather and produce the stories you see on the show.

But here's a little Backroads of Montana trivia.

There's only been one story in our 25 years where all four of us went on the trip.

It was the story of the Hershey family, using the beaver slides in the Big Hole Valley.

As for our crew... You know William.

There's Gus Chambers.

and John Twiggs.

And that's me, Ray Ekness.

I came up with an idea for a television show back in 1991.

Here's the original proposal we submitted to the Greater Montana Foundation.

We were hopeful we could produce the show for two, maybe even three years.

What we promised was simple.

We thought Backroads would give everyone a chance to see, off the beaten path, parts of Montana, as well as visits with interesting neighbors.

- We're gonna start her up, I guess.

- [Narrator] I remember when I thought this series might have potential.

It was on our first road trip to the ferry in Virgelle.

We captured a genuine Montana moment.

- [Man Off Camera] Within minutes, neighbor Ray Stevens arrived, fully prepared to push the ferry back into deep water.

But the mud held tight.

No matter how much Ray pushed, the ferry simply would not give.

Eventually, Ray's bumper did.

Undaunted by this setback, neighbor Ray Stevens did what any industrious person would do.

He got a bigger hammer.

- [Narrator] We were on our way to documenting a slice of real Montana.

- That was interesting to listened to them talk.

- [Narrator] It's been an amazing 25 years.

We visited more than 130 towns.

Told you more than 200 stories about the people and places across our big, beautiful state.

Altogether, we've driven more than 96,000 miles on these roads.

As you can tell by the map, we've still got plenty of places we need to cover in Big Sky Country.

Let's get this special rolling the same way we do with every show.

It's the song we all recognize.

Funny thing, it happened by accident.

In the beginning, we didn't have a theme song.

And I overheard this playing on Montana Public Radio.

And as they say, the rest is history.

- When it comes on it, it just sort of sets the stage, it's got, it's almost kind of, it's the hook.

And it is infectious.

I mean, you hear that tune and you just love that song.

♪ What's beautiful with spacious skies, ♪ ♪ Has Amber waves of grain.

♪ - That's a good theme song.

I've got to admit.

I've had that thing play in my head a few times after watching it.

♪ And has purple mountains majestic, ♪ ♪ That rise up out of the plains.

♪ - Bruce Anfinson's voice is just so calming and inviting.

♪ And all across America, from sea to shinning sea.

♪ - [Singing Together] Where mountains and the prairies meet, that the place I need to be.

- I can't sing the theme song, no.

- No.

Nope, sorry.

Don't go there.

(laughter) - I always sing in the shower so, do you want to bring your camera to the shower?

- Would you like to hum a few bars?

- Probably not.

I can't sing to save my soul.

- I started on the wrong chord.

- Home is where Montana is.

- Montana is my home - From mountain peaks and prairie lands, - And I'm bound to ramble.

Yes I'm bound to roam.

- [Singing Together] When I'm in, off the road Melboys.

Montana is my home.

♪ Well there's ranching in the mountains ♪ ♪ Many cattle you will find.

♪ - It's not San Francisco it's not LA, it's not New York.

I mean, that was obviously produced in my mind here.

Just the words, the verbiage.

It's just down home.

♪ And they're sheep birds on the high plateaus ♪ ♪ In this country, I call mine ♪ - [Man Off Camera] He's putting to words, just somebody saying, 'Hey this is why I love this state.

And, and in order to really kind of tap into it, I have to kind of get off the beaten path a little bit.

Because sometimes the beaten path gets, gets a little crowded'.

♪ And there's farming on the prairies ♪ ♪ A turn from green to gold.

♪ - Deep, emotional chord that people have with Montana.

If you've lived here for a short time or a long time it just seems like a very welcoming place.

♪ And when a gentle breeze blows across them fields, ♪ ♪ It's a fine sight to behold.

♪ - [Woman Off Camera] It's a traditional sounding Montana, old country song.

That you'd hear like around the campfire, moving cattle.

- It fits.

There's just a natural fit.

And it, has, again, there's a lots of arts and culture in Montana.

And this sounds like it's from here.

Like you didn't import it.

You didn't go to Chicago to get someone to write you a song.

(laughter) ♪ Home is where Montana is.

♪ ♪ Montana is my home.

♪ - From mountain peaks to prairie lands, places I have known.

- I am bound to ramble, yes, I'm bound to roam.

♪ When I'm in off the road Mailboys ♪ ♪ Montana is my home.

♪ - Okay fishy, fishy.

Let's see if we can get a fish here, William.

- [Woman Off Camera] I don't know, something about Montanans.

You can be fishing down a creek and bump into someone and just, carry on a conversation and never feel uncomfortable about it.

Everybody feels like their part of your family or, or a neighbor you've known a long time.

(guitar music) - And the fact that they seem like real genuine people rather than somebody you just plant in there and act like they're from the state of Montana.

You can tell that they are from Montana and they're not fake.

- It's getting a little tough anymore.

- The one story that I've always enjoyed, it was a gentleman that had the string around his head that held his glasses up.

And I can't remember the name of the fellow but, it was a marvelous story and it was a little bitty town.

And, and everyone came to that little store.

- [Narrator] The man with the curious appetizers is Bill Seward.

Chef, bartender, historian, unofficial mayor and oldest citizen of this small Eastern Montana town.

Usually Bill is the first to greet visitors.

He and any number of dogs who inhabit the wooden boardwalk lining the town's business district.

- If I can envision with him why, that's where you get to know people is talk to 'em and, if you don't talk you don't, you get to where you can hear if you don't talk, you know.

- He was a former boxer, we had no, no bridge on his nose.

So he had to wrap his glasses around his ears to get on.

What a character he was.

- [Narrator] What you're likely to hear about, is Bill's most obvious invention.

It's that string on his head.

This practical device keeps his glasses suspended above his nose.

- Just take them from off my nose and I don't drop one on the floor and I don't make saddle sores on my nose and don't hurt my ears.

So... - [Narrator] Honesty, tenacity, simplicity, all describe this town and its residents.

As changeless as the surrounding prairie.

That is so close to one man's heart.

- [Man Off Camera] That space.

There's no trees.

There's no rivers.

There's no rocks.

There's no clouds.

Just space.

- [Man Off Camera] I particularly liked that show on Frank Zimerhalkoff.

- [Narrator] Frank is a Volunteer Cooperative Weather Observer for the National Weather Service.

Every evening at precisely six o'clock, he records the temperature, measures any precipitation and sends the information to Great Falls.

It's a simple task, but one that must be done - It's what the show is about.

It's just a common person, doing a job like he was doing and, and, and, and living a rancher's life.

But consistently taking that weather.

- [Narrator] Frank Zimmerhalkoff has been doing it for 63 years.

Longer than anyone in the Northwest.

- They call me the Dean of Weather Observers because nobody in the state ever hit 63.

- [Man Off Camera] And had it been for the show, who would have known about Frank Zimmerhalkoff?

- A couple that were done in the area that I grew up in and lived in all my life, that is the suburb Sweet Grass area.

One about a woman Wava Danbrook that wrote the local news.

- [Narrator] She's the local correspondent for the Sweet Grass News, an article that appears in the weekly Shelby paper.

Wava's a newcomer to the newspaper business.

She's only been writing for a few years.

The last reporter quit leaving Sweet Grass with no local news.

- Gee, we gotta have some Sweet Grass news.

And I, as you know, I like to talk.

And I think that was one of the main reasons that I've continued to do it.

That it's just, it's just, I feel it's kind of an obligation in a way.

- Yeah sometimes the rural areas feel kind of forgotten.

I think, as, as we move to urbanization and things that...

So if you see a program where people emphasize the, the stories and the culture that was so important to you that pretty fascinating, pretty good stuff.

- [Narrator] And for the rest of us, these are small pieces of history.

Recorded in a small paper, documenting a small town.

Written by the people who live there and love their community.

- I think my favorite place was, when you played the Butte going.

Because I've been to Butte and watched Luigi play down there.

- [Narrator] After all, when you're billed as the World's Largest One Man Band and the House of Dance and Dolls, you've got quite a reputation to uphold.

A reputation that Luigi and his one-of-a-kind lounge, faithfully maintained.

Once the night got rolling, Luigi's bar not only rocked, it crawled, slithered and swam.

All thanks to the owners, musical versatility and mechanical genius.

- And then when I had the chance to buy his accordion after he passed away, ever since then, I've watched the show and every time you replayed it, I watch it again.

- [Narrator] And around town, people still talk about Luigi's.

The dancing dolls, the circus like atmosphere, the pranks, the pipes and the beautiful noise that has not been heard since.

But it's always Luigi who gets the last word.

(laugher) - Well, I remember a segment that you did about a gentleman, a veteran, I believe from North Central Montana.

Was he from Shelby?

I think.

And he was, made him safe, self available to play taps.

- [Narrator] And, so Ray kept going.

At age 99 he drives himself to the ceremonies.

Everyone in the area expects to see him.

- Well, carry on you do a marvelous job.

- [Narrator] It's getting tougher.

Ray can't stay on his feet for the entire ceremony.

But when it's his time, he stands and delivers.

(trumpet playing taps) - [Narrator] They are imperfect notes to form the perfect tribute to his fellow veterans.

Ray's version of taps.

- Every one of them got a little flaw here or there.

We'll call that play my nature.

I got a few flaws with my name and my life.

So I had to express myself when I'm out trumping.

I have a little flaw once in a while.

(trumpet playing taps) - [Woman Off Camera] And I've even heard some of his wrong notes.

But we all smile at that because that's not what's important.

What's important is that he feels, and he stands tall and plays taps for these, for these veterans.

(heavy breathing) - Oh boy.

- My father passed away this March and he was a Purple Heart, Silver Star recipient of World War Two.

And the story just really touched my heart.

That, that someone felt it so important to continue that tradition.

(trumpet playing taps) - [Narrator] 24 notes, a fitting farewell to a man who gave that honor to so many.

- And I love your show.

I just simply love it.

I, I don't know, but it just does something in here.

And I always cry.

I do.

See.

I'm not lying because I love it.

- [Narrator] When he finishes, his daughter will play it.

But his wife won't remember.

He won't be able to share the rewards with Maryanne.

For Wayne Hampton, the man whose hands have given so much to so many, he's now giving the simplest gift of all.

- I guess the fact that I love her and still do and always will.

She's, been a companion for so long that she's just been, been a wonderful life.

Let me hold your hand Ma.

I'd like to hold your hand.

I'll always like to hold your hand.

- I like the history pieces.

I like when you talk about what things used to be like.

Like in, in Great Falls you talked about, what was it like a nightclub that was ran?

And you kind of talked about what that was like.

(jazz music) - [Narrator] It wasn't a piano, but a saxophone that got Jack started in jazz.

He left the small town of Big Sandy as a teenager and went to Great Falls to find his sound.

He began with a trip up a narrow staircase leading to a whole new world.

A place called the Ozark Club.

(lively Jazz music) - [Man Off Camera] The Ozark Club was the place to go.

Because people began to realize what there was in the music.

- [Narrator] The power of their music, brought men and women, black and whites to the dance floor.

- I remember the seed show where they did, uh, they took all the different kinds of seeds.

And they did a, an entire town.

And that was pretty amazing.

- [Narrator] Whatever it takes.

That's one of the unwritten rules in the Seed Picture Competition.

Another unwritten rule, never divulge your seed picture idea.

- Very secretive.

- Even though I have a cousin in another community working we don't talk about it ahead of time.

- [Woman Off Camera] No, no inkling.

- Two of the gals do work together in the same office.

But they don't talk about it too much either.

- They'll say if we meet them on the street or something they'll say... - Have you started yet?

- No, we haven't started yet.

- [Woman Off Camera] They won't tell.

Nobody ever says anything about what it is.

- [Narrator] Art is everywhere in Richland County.

It's in Ridgelawn, Fairview and Lambert.

It's in east side Savage and Crane.

It's a tradition that grows back every year.

- I'm a private pilot.

In one of your early episodes you did up in Schafer Meadows.

And I know the guy that was, had the plane, Terry Miles flew his little airplane in and out of there.

- [Narrator] Directly ahead, is a narrow strip of grass, Schafer Airfield.

A secluded runway in the heart of the Great Bear Wilderness.

Before landing Bobbie will overfly the field, to check for animals on the runway.

Four and two legged.

After that she'll focus all of her attention on final.

- [Pilot] Okay.

Line it up on final.

Airspeed to fifty.

Looking for my spot.

Pitching up.

I don't know if I hit the bump, or the bump hit me but we did get a little bounce.

- [Narrator] Like mountain flying Schafer Meadows is a place to find solitude.

A secret shared by those whose hearts are at peace in the clouds.

- [Pilot] It's so beautiful to take off any early morning, and just go out and, do nothing more than just be out there by yourself.

(Native American singing and playing drum) - [Woman Off Camera] There was a Native American show that was, "The Music Who Saved a Young Man".

And his music was beautiful.

- [Man Off Camera] I just really love coming up here 'cause, it's like my own comfort zone.

- [Narrator] He climbs over a small creek, and treks up a hill.

To find a waterfall where he loves to sit, think and sing.

- [Man Off Camera] It's soothing to my soul here.

(Native American singing and drum being played) - Just the scenery and the land itself, it's, it's soothing.

It's beautiful.

- And it kind of drew me into, this place here.

Because he was here, and his ancestors were here for a long time.

And so to get that perspective of Montana, I thought was pretty neat.

- [Man Off Camera] I see myself doing this for as long as I possibly can.

It's really brought me a long ways in my, in my life too.

(Native American singing and playing drum) - It was a place that you had been, um, with an old railroad trestle.

And, and you very discreetly kept it to yourself on where it was.

- [Narrator] Near this trestle over a winding creek, we take on grain.

In 1913 the trestles construction crew, halfway through their task, paused briefly for this photograph.

- The, the curious kid in me was like, I wonder where that is.

And I've never gone to pursue where it is but that's one that I always remember as I'm driving on literal back roads thinking, "oh, I wonder if it's here"?

- People are surprised, that a bar like The Sip and Dip exists in Montana.

- [Narrator] There are many reasons for The Sip and Dip's underground popularity.

But its resident piano player, may be number one.

Pat Spoonheim has been putting on the Ritz since 1963.

- Favorite characters.

I think it might be Pat at the Sip and Dip.

I mean, what a tradition.

- I've been here a whole lot of years.

And I kid everybody and I said, you know, it's me and Lewis and Clark.

The Sip and Dip Lounge in Great Falls, undeniably one of the most fun and funky and interesting places in Montana.

- [Narrator] She covers everything from Sinatra, to Cash to Buffet.

Although titles are immaterial.

It's really about hearing Pat play them.

- Remember that night in Montana?

When I said there'd be no room for doubt.

- [Narrator] She tries to honor every request.

This one is a crowd favorite.

- Sweet Carolina.

(crowd singing) - Good times never seemed so good, so good, so good, so good.

I'm still got 'em coming in 'cause you're still putting it on the air.

And I still got 'em coming in and say, Well I saw your thing on TV, Backroads of Montana.

And I, I just told them, I said, well that's been 10 years hasn't it?

- [Narrator] The retro atmosphere has of Hollywood stars, but it's Piano Pat who's the real celebrity here.

- That has been very special being on Backroads of Montana that many times at church, the church goers at my church, walk up and say, Well I will watched your program last night on TV.

And also that they're sure watching it.

- [Narrator] On the Plains of Eastern Montana.

There's a tiny green Oasis for migrating birds.

This little park in this little town, also nurtured a boy's love for birds.

More than 30 years ago, Ted Nordhagen didn't know a career would start here.

- I'd read about these life lists where you put down all the birds you've seen.

I decided that day I would come over here and start my life list.

And I'll never forget it because I walked down this street and all the while down the street, I could hear this bird singing and, just amazing song.

And I come down to the end of the corner here, and there was a rose breasted grosbeak.

A bird that at that time, was little known in Montana.

- Some folks back home, they had been traveling and, and staying in a motel and they turned on the TV and here's Backroads of Montana.

And here's how our show.

And neither one of them had ever heard about it.

And so the first thing they said, when they seen me was, "We didn't know you'd been on PBS".

And they enjoyed it.

I mean, yeah, we're close to coming up on close to 15 years and they, they, and that happens a lot.

- Right?

And at the same time that I was looking at them birds, I always had this.

I had that other connection.

I've never looked at a bird without thinking about drawing one.

- [Narrator] Sisters Tia Kober and Fritzi Ateman, would like to think they have some secrets.

But it's common knowledge that they bake the tastiest Angel Food Cakes around.

Folks even call them the Cake Ladies.

- We get mail saying Cake Ladies.

- [Narrator] And most people already know, that to use the freshest eggs possible, the Cake Ladies, raise their own chickens.

- Certainly, after that story took place, I was in Target and this lady came around and sing and she said, "Oh my gosh, I just saw you on the Backroads".

And I was so surprised.

And she said, "I enjoy that show all the time".

- [Narrator] Their secret ingredient isn't just the fresh eggs, but the generous spirit they add to everything.

From their careers, through their retirement.

It's a quality that honors their parents' memory and makes their pastor proud.

Every time a cake comes out of the oven.

- Well, if people want to experience the grace of God they just have to hang out with these two Cake Ladies, Tia and Fritzi.

And if they want to know what the taste of the grace of God is, you just taste one of those Angel Food Cakes.

They are, they are just marvelous.

(crowd applauding) - [Man Off Camera] It's one of those things when you're turning the channel, I hit a certain station, you know, and you go, well maybe I'll watch this.

When I hit Backroads, I just lock, I just stop it.

I just stop it.

- When we head out on the road, we look for the best of what Montana has to offer.

- [Man Off Camera] Because it's, I'm going to see something in Montana that even though I've been here for 25 years, I'm not, I haven't seen before.

- You're turning them too fast Jeff.

- We saw it on PBS and one of the episodes just hooked us.

- I kind of saw it, just kind of flipping through the channels one day I was like, oh this is kind of cool.

- We're, you know, surfing through, looking at PBS.

And we like to watch documentaries and liked to watch travel shows.

And it just caught our eye and we were, oh.

Let's see where we might've been and where we might go.

- Well, we've been watching it since, I can honestly remember.

My dad's been watching it, well, I think since it started.

- I started watching Backroads about fifth grade or so I'd say.

Um, just right at the tail end of elementary school.

- I started watching Backroads with my grandfather when I was probably seven or eight.

Oh my grandfather, we used to travel based on your show.

Like if you went to some random, small town, our summer trip was that random small town.

Every week, my grandfather calls and we talk about the show.

So we both have to watch it.

- Gives me an opportunity to spend time with my family.

And we love talking about the show as it's going on and thinking about those are places that we could go visit or we've been to these places and can reminisce about the things that we've learned.

- My wife watches it all the time.

So, she calls, when I'm in the den, she calls me and I got to go watch it.

It's a good show.

She just...

It's 'cause she's from Havre you know.

And she, she's a highland girl, she loves it.

- My husband and I watch.

At first he was like, "Oh this is so corny".

And I'm like, no, it's not.

It's great.

Watch it.

(laughter) - [Producer] What does he think now?

- He likes it.

- I told my friends let's go to this place.

This was on the show.

And so I wouldn't, And so we went and, and I told them about it.

And so, and then when they asked, "Where'd you hear about it?"

I was like, oh, I watch this show called Backroads of Montana.

So.

- [Producer] And what'd they say.

- They've made fun of me.

They think it's an old person show.

So, and so they all made fun of me cause they, they thinking oh, is that, that show that my grandpa watches.

It's like, yeah, I guess.

- [Man Off Camera] I don't know how to say it.

I don't even know any other way to say it.

It's when you watch it, you just go, let's do this again.

It's kind of like you just meet somebody and you have a good time.

You meet somebody every time you're on Backroads.

- [Man Off Camera] Great experience.

We all just sat on a couch together.

Kind of like a family movie night, except we were watching Backroads.

- [Narrator] The whole Backroads crew, appreciates when stories have a lasting impact.

I know I do.

I'm Gus Chambers.

That's me on the left.

Every once in a blue moon, we present a story that resonates with people and prompts them into action.

It's a story that we think makes a difference.

Take the Gebo Cemetery and Melody Kilwine for example.

Melody, along with her husband Mike, propped up fallen headstones, straightened borders, and kept the cows out.

More importantly, Melody began keeping records and collecting information on the people buried in Gebo.

- One thing led to another.

And next thing I know, I just keep compiling all this information.

And it's just blossomed into a historical research of this.

- [Narrator] Melody learned that the cemetery was established around 1899 with the burial of five-year-old Leila Natty Harlan.

Leila's father, editor of the local newspaper, called the Gebo Cemetery the silent city of the future.

Like Leila Harlan, roughly half the population of this silent city are infants.

Victims of childhood diseases or hardships common to a tough mining town.

Felix Massin was 12 when a sandbank collapsed on him.

He was already working as a weeder in the beet fields below Gebo.

Opal Gottschalk's life ended when she was three.

Her father, the town barber, placed this wire monument above her grave with a beautiful Clark Fork Valley at her feet.

But it was the story of one headstone in particular, that caught the attention of Backroads viewer, Lou Seymour.

Wind, and rain have not been kind to the sandstone markers.

Neither have some people.

Theodore Gloud founded the town of Emigrant, but returned to Gebo.

Last year hunters used the cross atop his headstone, to sight in their rifles.

Melody says she can fix that.

She can't fix one of her favorites.

Little Alberto Coronado was the son of migrant workers.

Vandals busted the simple headstone his parents made to retrieve four marbles.

- You know, they're not just a headstone.

They're, they're actually somebody's relatives.

- But it, it, it did break my heart to, to, you know when I got up here and see that vandals had smashed the gravestone and taken those marbles.

I just couldn't conceive of a human, you know, even if those were priceless marbles, they, you know, for a five-year old boy, that was just terrible.

- [Narrator] So Lou, along with his family and his family's friends built little Alberto Coronado another marker.

- I thought I could throw together concrete headstone, put the marbles back in.

And so I had a lot of help.

My wife, my son and my daughter were all there like every minute.

And that took like a year and a half.

So it's a lot of minutes.

- [Narrator] No one was more surprised and delighted than Melody.

- Really?

That's what went through my mind at first.

Really?

You want to do this?

And then the more I thought about it, it was like, oh this is so cool.

Yes.

What can I do to help?

You know.

- Alberto's new headstone is bigger and stronger.

And the new glass marbles which are built around steel anchors, aren't going anywhere.

And just in case... - If marbles are so important to somebody around here, I'll just leave them a whole box and they can just take them and go.

And if, when I come up here, if they're gone, I'll bring another box.

Just leave the marker alone.

- [Narrator] Lou and Melody added another touch.

The new headstone carries a ceramic photograph of Alberto's original marker.

Just in case the Coronado family returns looking for Alberto.

One family honoring another.

That's always a story we love to tell on Backroads.

You don't have to go forward to find another Backroads episode that made a difference.

A few years ago William hosted the show from the Rialto Theater in Deer Lodge.

Or at least what was left of the once opulent, Mozart-style theater.

- It was late afternoon on November 4th, 2006 when a passer-by noticed smoke and fire in the theater.

Within minutes, the fire was raging inside the auditorium.

Consuming the silk tapestries, fancy light fixtures, the seats, the balcony and the new lighting system eventually burning through the roof.

Quick action by fire departments from all over the Deer Lodge Valley, saved the buildings fascade and the neighboring structures.

Steve Owens, a volunteer who helped in the effort to buy the theater from the Hanson family in 1995, says the town was devastated by the fire.

- There were just hundreds and hundreds of people on Main Street, just crying and, and just invested so much time.

And you know, so many of them were volunteers here.

We had hundreds of volunteers.

And the children just didn't know what they were going to do.

It was just a really tragic, you know, few days.

I mean, there was a lot of shock.

- [Narrator] When the shock wore off, citizens of Deer Lodge got busy.

When we were there in 2007 they'd already raised $1 million on a lofty three and a half million dollar goal.

Dozens of bake sales, thousands of volunteer hours and one understanding contractor later, the Rialto officially reopened in 2012.

They accomplished the impossible.

- We had donors from 40 different And we know some of those saw the program.

They didn't see it in their local paper.

What, this week we got a man from Big Fork that saw the program for the first time and just wanted to help out and we'll let him know that we're open and he wants to come see it.

They'll come just to see the theater because they saw it on Backroads.

- [Narrator] According to Steve, the restoration is not just a point of pride for the community, but also a source of inspiration for other communities with a daunting challenge ahead of them.

- Made a big difference to some other projects we heard about.

People said, "We were inspired to proceed with our thing because you can do that, with, after your disaster, then we should be able to do our project too".

- [Narrator] At Backroads, we're used to telling a single story.

But in Great Falls, the Montana Veterans Memorial is literally telling thousands.

- [Narrator] Another World War Two veteran Lester Eck is searching for the tile his family bought him.

- Oh yeah.

Right here.

- [Narrator] They are examples of what makes the Montana Veterans Memorial unique.

- Is the fact that it's a living memorial.

In other words, it's for people still living today.

Veterans who served in the military men and women.

- Oh there he is.

Right down in the corner.

- There he is.

Yes he is.

Lookie there.

- [Man Off Camera] It, it is a place of honor.

And with that comes a special feeling of pride.

- Thank you very much.

- You're so very welcome.

- [Narrator] The Memorial with its distinctive Montana feel started in 1999, amid a swarm of skepticism.

- You know.

Ah, you guys ain't gonna make it.

That thing's gonna fail.

- Forget about it.

We've already tried it.

You aren't going to get it done.

- There, there's no such thing as the word fail on this.

This is a goal.

It ain't gonna to fail.

I don't care how many people said fail.

There was no word.

How do you spell that?

Not in this club.

- [Narrator] Bill Visher is searching.

The project was a go for Backroads too.

And later we were delighted when Mike told us, the episode had made a difference.

- It usually runs on a Saturday and right after it's done I'll receive three or four phone calls from people around the state asking for applications and information.

We have had several hundred directly associated with the Backroads of Montana.

I think when you were here in 2010, we had about a, 2000 tiles in place.

We, where building the walls.

Since then we've escalated to about 6,500 tiles.

- [Narrator] Today, six years later, Mike and crew are busy adding tiles and building walls.

They're particularly proud of a section on the east side specifically dedicated to Blackfeet Veterans.

Those are some of the concrete features that this team of veterans and wives are busy creating.

But along with that, they're generating enthusiasm and quiet recognition.

- [Man Off Camera] You know, we were the catalyst for several other memorials being built throughout the state.

Cut Bank, Fort Peck.

There's two or three other ones that have been in contact with us about how they could build memorials, similar to ours.

- [Narrator] The Montana Veterans Memorial grew quiet.

Its purpose became clear.

- [Woman Off Camera] A solace, a nice uniting thing to go up there and, and see that.

- [Narrator] In the end, Mike expressed a sentiment we've heard on almost all of the projects we've covered on the Backroads of Montana.

- [Man Off Camera] There could be no, no glory given to one individual.

It, this was a team effort all the way down to Pike and and we all stand together and united on it.

- Well, that'll wrap up this edition of Backroads of Montana.

Thanks for watching.

And thanks to those of you who sent in cards and letters after our first show.

- [Narrator] Ever since then, you've continued to send us cards and letters.

And your support and love of the show has been incredible.

- And you seek 'em out and so the rest of us, get to enjoy those stories which we are unaware of.

Are available to the people of the state of Montana.

- How did you find all these people?

- Some of our best stories come from viewers, just like you.

We welcome your letters and story ideas.

And we'll thank you in advance for any story ideas you have for our show.

- Many of our stories come from viewers, just like you.

That's how we found the Prairie Winds Cafe.

- And we'd also like to thank George Herschberger and two other viewers for ideas that we used on today's show.

It was this viewer letter that led us to the story in Harlowton.

We always liked getting your letters and story ideas.

If you have an idea, drop it by at the Backroads of Montana, the University of Montana, Missoula, Montana, 59812 - [Narrator] Those interesting stories and great people left us with another treat.

Some genuine words of wisdom.

- I tell her, Allie, you can't do it by yourself.

You need help.

Let me help you.

(upbeat guitar music) - New people, new opportunities.

Everything is an opportunity.

If you see it that way.

- [Woman Off Camera] There's a part of me that needs to be out here.

Needs to be fishing.

I guess the easiest correlation is some people need to hear beautiful music.

And I think whatever we enjoy as human beings, you know, we tend to repeat.

- I've had several people say it.

If you have to, occasionally look back, to see where to go.

- Talk to your family, talk to your grandparents.

If you have great-grandparents living, record their histories.

Because once they're gone, what they know is gone also.

- I remember I worse sheep skin packs on my feet, in my kitchen.

It was so cold.

- You wore what?

- They were sheep skin packs - Oh my goodness.

- It was so cold.

It would even freeze the ice in the reservoir around the stove.

- Oh my.

That's cold.

- [Man Off Camera] It isn't a job that you'll get rich at.

It's a good place to raise a family.

- [Man Off Camera] The key to driving horses is that you, you've got to be out thinking them.

You can't out, out maneuver 'em if you're not a step ahead of 'em.

If you're a step behind them, you're, you're beat every time.

- I kind of think like a cow and you gotta know what a cow's thinking.

- I like to think that, the part of the reason that I'm still alive is that, I still have some good to do somewhere.

- Growing old is mandatory.

Growing up is optional.

(lively harmonica music) - And I don't play slop.

Lot of people play slop.

I don't play slop.

- You've got to put a little humor with it.

(laughter) - I mean, that's how, nutty, you can get.

- Nobody expects you to be perfect if you're painting with a crowbar.

- I wished they had a crowbar at City Hall more often, sometimes City Council meetings.

But he puts a crowbar to a heck of a lot better use than most everybody else does.

So, um, another one of my voters.

- Eat pie here every day and they always give me extra for my dog.

Only problem is last year, went out duck hunting, and the only thing he could point was a piece of coconut pie.

(dogs barking) - Who let the dogs out?

Who, who, who, who?

Grandma let the dogs out.

Who, who, who.

- I did not.

- Woohoo.

(dogs barking) - Most mornings, you'll find Butch Wadell at Val's Cafe in Wilsall.

- Will- Sal.

- Uh, Pardon?

- Will- Sal.

So it's Will- Sal?

- Willsall.

- And Slim said, "Who is it"?

And the bartender said, "It's your mother-in-law".

And he pulled out his gun and he shot the phone.

- You gotta have fun when you've got a set of cow ears on.

(laughter) - Now, we're going back to bizarre, I guess.

- Boink, boink.

- Well, it's off the pole.

They been here for, since Louis and Clark come down to the canyon.

(laughter) - Girls, shhh.

You have to be quiet.

I'm on TV.

(people laughing) - This is my fifteen minutes of fame.

Or at least my one.

- I'm a simple man.

And I like a simple job and this isn't it.

- And that's why your friends, 'cause you can accept one another as you are.

And to me, that's what a friend is.

- The biggest challenge is getting the man to lead.

That is the biggest challenge.

Because the lady can't read his mind - [Man Off Camera] And what's the harm in people getting together and hugging each other and enjoying life?

I think it's beautiful.

- Disability does not define you.

I'm still the same person I was.

- When you're driving by or sitting at home, you don't get to see the real experience the smell and the feel of the plants like you do if you're just driving by.

And if you stop and get out, it gives a chance, for me anyway, a little bit of a chance to relax and realize that no matter what happens in your life, all these plants are out here doing their thing.

And they'll continue to grow and flower and set seed, no matter what happens in the world.

- This is the last best place on earth.

Montana.

(lively country music) - Well, the show's been on longer than I've been alive.

- It's been on that long?

- [Man Off Camera] Yeah.

- Normally shows last five to 10 years.

You guys have lasted 25.

That's impressive actually.

- I think that the show has lasted 25 years because a lot of people think that Montana history is, or just Montana in general, is important.

- It goes right to the heart of a, heart and soul of unique people in Montana, and what it make, what they're made out of.

- I think it's, it's such a true representation of our state.

Of the humbleness of the great people that live here and have endured and made this their home.

- It's real.

It's Montana.

People like me get to learn about Montana and people who have been here forever can look back and think, "I saw that when it was young and busy and bustling", and see the history of it.

- Celebrating who we are.

What makes us Montanans?

What makes the state great.

In a way that's visual, was very appealing ♪ And drip like a cloud.

♪ ♪ Out over the the bad lands.

♪ - [Man Off Camera] We're just trying to preserve that, that feeling and that way of life that someday may be gone.

♪ No wind in the sagebrush.

♪ ♪ Sounds like heaven calling.

♪ - It's hearkening back to something that they think is nostalgic.

And you're saying, no it's actually here.

That you're tapping into something that, that we often chalk up as old fashioned or old but it's actually something that taps into something that will never be, never be old.

♪ A song of Montana ♪ ♪ to me.

♪ - [Narrator] The whole Backroads of Montana crew appreciates the last 25 years.

And we'll leave you with one final promise, that you've heard from William, during all these years.

- As long as you keep watching, As long as you keep watching.

We'll keep covering.

We'll keep covering.

We'll keep covering the Backroads.

The Backroads.

The Backroads of Montana.

The Backroads of Montana.

I'm William Marcus.

I'm William Marcus.

I'm William Marcus.

See you next time.

See you next time.

See you next time.

(crowd cheering) - And welcome back to the beautiful Rialto Theater in Downtown Deer Lodge.

It's been a great night of celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Backroads of Montana.

I'm John Twiggs, one of the program producers.

- I'm William Marcus.

I'm the host of Backroads of Montana.

- All right, William, that last segment ended.

What was it like watching your life flash before your eyes in about 30 seconds?

- Well, I hope there'll be more seasons.

I, it is just the fact that the show keeps going and people keep watching it and my hair keeps changing.

And some things don't change though.

I mean the spirit and the warmth that we find out on the road is indelible.

It's there all the time.

- Yeah.

I'm not sure what's more troubling.

The great pleasure we took in putting that together, as we went back through it?

Or the others part of that equation.

But it has been great fun not only... - It's the kind of support I get from them.

- That's right.

Yes.

He overcomes adversity in every episode.

But it has been great fun.

Not only just for that, but as we've talked about before seeing all these great people in places from the past.

We've had a great time here tonight.

It's been so much fun to get out of the office and get on the road.

We've been here in the beautiful Rialto Theater in Downtown Deer Lodge.

We've had a great audience here tonight the fans and friends of the show, some of the people who have appeared in the show as characters in the show, we were just so grateful to see that.

And it's just been a wonderful evening.

- It has.

And as I say, every week.. As long as you keep watching, we'll keep covering the Backroads of Montana.

I'm William Marcus.

See you next time.

(person yelling) (crowd laughing) (crowd clapping) - When we get back later and they're all just staring at the wall.

That's when you know we've lost them.

- Right?

Not one of us is going to talk I guess.

- It all comes apart at the end.

I'm just so sorry they had to see this.

- You're sworn to secrecy.

- This Backroads of Montana special is made possible with production support from the Greater Montana Foundation.

Encouraging communication on issues, trends, and values of importance to Montanans.

The Big Sky Film Grant, and the University of Montana.