Episodes

  • Episode 13: Double Front Cafe, Herndon family cooking chicken for over 60 years

    Episode 13: Double Front Cafe, Herndon family cooking chicken for over 60 years
    Jul 29 2024
    The Double Front Cafe has been serving patrons at the same location on two streets in Missoula since 1909. The restaurant has no back door. But it has two front doors, one on West Alder Street, and the other on West Railroad Street. It's been owned and operated by the same family since 1961. The number 61 is an important milestone for this Missoula business.
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    6 mins
  • Episode 12: Traveling diesel mechanic serves truckers, rural Montanans

    Episode 12: Traveling diesel mechanic serves truckers, rural Montanans
    Jul 22 2024
    Garrison has always been a crossroads of trade and travel. It sits at the intersection of Highway 12, leading to Helena, and Interstate 90, connecting Missoula to Butte and points west and east. In recent years, the town has seen economic decline. But one man is working to help change that. Chance Tant is a diesel mechanic in Garrison. His Diesel Daddy Mobile Truck Repair provides on-Location service. He said he opened his business "to go after the semi repair on the side of the highways." But much of his time is spent traveling to farms and ranches in the area. Sometimes, farmers and ranchers bring their broken equipment to Tant's shop. But he also takes his repair service to them.
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    5 mins
  • Episode 11: Timekeepers keep family heirlooms ticking at Grandfather's Clocks

    Episode 11: Timekeepers keep family heirlooms ticking at Grandfather's Clocks
    Jul 15 2024
    For many of us, our cell phones sprung ahead for Daylight saving time automatically. If you have an old-fashioned mechanical clock you had to adjust the hour by hand. Digital clocks may be more convenient. But at Grandfather's Clocks in Stevensville, there's just something about the ticking of a vintage clock. NBC Montana visited the clock shop as dozens of ticking clocks, some chiming, some with cuckoos sounding their famous trills, struck the top of the hour. It's a melodious sound.
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    5 mins
  • Episode 9: Dillon family ranch supplies wool for Duckworth Apparel

    Episode 9: Dillon family ranch supplies wool for Duckworth Apparel
    Jul 15 2024
    Almost 10 years ago, fourth-generation Dillon sheep rancher John Helle co-founded Duckworth Apparel Company in Montana. Duckworth outdoor wear is now marketed all over the world. The family ranchers are meeting contemporary clothing needs by keeping their pioneer history alive. The company brands its products "from sheep to shelf." In this week's Montana Moment, NBC Montana profiles the family behind the company and its hard working, well traveled sheep. We began the story early last summer when the Helle's brought 900 head of ewes from the Helle ranch in Dillon to the city of Missoula.
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    6 mins
  • Episode 8: Helena man's birdhouses built from pieces of Montana history

    Episode 8: Helena man's birdhouses built from pieces of Montana history
    Jul 15 2024
    When birds are building nests for their new families, it's nice to find homes that look and feel like their natural environment. Helena's Kirk Johnson builds birdhouses from pieces of Montana history. NBC Montana met Kirk at his shop, where he keeps a steady supply of building supplies. He keeps a large collection of old tree remnants and assorted odds and ends to make his creations. To show us, he pulled out the trunk of an old Russian Olive tree that he found near East Helena.
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    5 mins
  • Episode 7: Public art blends past with present in historic Rodney Street Neighborhood

    Episode 7: Public art blends past with present in historic Rodney Street Neighborhood
    Jul 15 2024
    The Rodney Street Neighborhood in Helena was born soon after the discovery of gold in Last Chance Gulch. In it's 150-or so years, the neighborhood really hasn't changed that much, at least when you compare it to other neighborhoods. If you're an artist that is something to celebrate. “The Rodney Street Neighborhood," said artist Amanda Reese, " is this funky little neighborhood nestled in historic Helena.”
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    6 mins
  • Episode 6: Building caskets, urns is 'special honor' for master carpenter

    Episode 6: Building caskets, urns is 'special honor' for master carpenter
    Jul 15 2024
    They call the lumber harvested from trees killed by mountain pine beetles blue pine. The beetles that burrow into those trees leave their marks in bluish gray, often mixed with greens, pinks and oranges. NBC Montana traveled to Vaughn to meet a master carpenter who values such wood as prized building material. Brad Opheim builds caskets and urns from blue pine. "I love my job," he said. "I remind myself of that everyday. It's a special honor to build the casket for a (family's) loved one." “Blue pine used to be a throwaway lumber," he said. "It was almost worthless. I just thought it was beautiful.”
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    6 mins
  • Episode 5: Frogs sing songs of spring at Ott-Kimm Conservatory

    Episode 5: Frogs sing songs of spring at Ott-Kimm Conservatory
    Jul 15 2024
    At the Ott-Kimm Conservatory in Three Forks, the senses of sight, sound and smell are magnified. It's a place where life forms come together in what some have called the Circle of Life. John Hemighaus built the conservatory to create a Zone 8 growing environment. It's a zone of warmer climates and longer growing seasons than Montana's. John grew up in a Pennsylvania family that has operated large greenhouses for generations.
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    6 mins