(boat humming) - [John] Coming up on "Backroads of Montana."

- [Tom] Oh, look at that.

- [John] In Eastern Montana, experience the passion this man has for one of the state's official gemstones.

- [Tom] It's the thrill of wow.

- [John] In Valier, slow down for the town's only traffic light and stop for the mural going up.

- [Athena] I was amazed at how many people stopped and talked.

- [John] In Western Montana, meet the crew carving out fun for all ages.

- [John Thompson] So we kept the group together, and we call ourselves The Ponykeepers.

- [John] And in Roundup, learn about the man who saw human forms in cottonwood limbs.

- [Bill] The average guy wouldn't see that without it being pointed out to you.

- [John] You better stick around, because you don't wanna miss this episode.

- [Announcer] "Backroads of Montana" 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.

♪ Home is where Montana is ♪ ♪ Montana is my home ♪ ♪ From mountain peaks to prairie lands ♪ ♪ The places I have known ♪ ♪ And I'm bound to ramble ♪ ♪ Yes, I'm bound to roam ♪ ♪ And when I'm in off the road now, boys ♪ ♪ Montana is my home ♪ (warm music) - Welcome to "Backroads of Montana," delivering stories of the dynamic people and places across our state.

I'm John Twiggs, and on this episode, we're gaining elevation to explore the Southern Montana City of Red Lodge.

(lighthearted music) Tucked into this beautiful valley by the Beartooth Mountains, it sits at the altitude of 5,555 feet.

The location served as a summer site for annual Crow tribal gatherings.

By the late 1800s, permanent settlers took over and established the Town of Red Lodge in 1884.

During the show, we'll learn more about the area's history, get a glimpse of how they care for area wildlife, and enjoy some of the artwork that celebrates the natural beauty here.

That beauty is all around us in Montana, but sometimes it's right beneath our feet.

One of the state's official gemstones is the Montana agate, and we went to where the agates are, Eastern Montana, to meet a man who not only made a career out of them but also a family tradition.

(boat humming) - [Tom] On the Yellowstone River.

I can't think of nothin' better.

- [John] It's a family field trip for the Harmons.

Son Jim, daughter Tina, and their father, Tom.

They're about to search for Montana agates.

No sooner than they step off the boat- - Oh, look at this.

Here's the one right there, look at that.

- [John] Tom shows his eagle eye.

- [Jim] He already found one.

(bright music) - It's the thrill of the hunt.

Beautiful in their own right.

- You feel euphoric.

I mean, the blood pressure goes up.

This is a pretty good one here.

Thankfulness.

- [Tina] Okay, here's one.

It's adrenaline rush.

Your heart races.

- [John] Tom Harmon, now in his 80s, has been walking these gravel bars almost his entire life, convinced the next rock he turns over will be a dandy.

- [Tom] It's gotta be a big dandy in here somewhere.

- My dad is a natural-born optimist.

- [Tom] Dandies comin' up.

- [John] This stretch of the Yellowstone, from Sidney down near Hysham, has the richest deposits of Montana agates in the state.

But that doesn't mean they're easy to find.

(lighthearted music) - [Tina] Is this one?

Is this one?

Is this one?

- [Jim] You know, 'cause you look down at the ground, and there's so many rocks.

- [Tom] And then if you take your eyes off it, sometimes you can't find it.

That is a weird rock.

You gotta be thinking agate, agate, agate.

- [John] This gemstone is mainly quartz with a drab exterior, but it's what's potentially inside that makes it unique.

And how Tom got inside the agate business is truly extraordinary.

(gentle music) Tom grew up in Eastern Montana, half a mile from the Yellowstone River.

He had an early interest in rocks that he put on hold.

After a brief stint in the military, Tom returned home.

He met and married Cheryl, and they started a family.

Tom worked as a mechanic during the week and looked for agates on the weekend.

Then, he decided to quit his job.

- I come home early and told my wife I was going to the river full-time.

- I said, "You got to be kidding me!

You gotta make money so we can pay bills and feed our little baby!"

Oh, wow.

I was upset.

I was.

But I got over it.

(laughs) - (laughs) She actually thought I'd lost it, you know, and we'd never make it.

(chuckles) (bright music) - [John] At first, it was slow going and hard work.

Tom picked rocks 13 hours a day, seven days a week, bringing home over 100 pounds of agate a day.

Cheryl ran their agate shop and kept the books.

The business grew, and their young kids were getting curious.

- [Tina] Oh, yay, we get to go with dad and see what he's doing.

- I loved being down on the river.

Just being with dad was the best part of it.

- [John] Along the way, Jim and the rest of the family were helping the business, not just collecting agates, but trying to get the most out of them.

- Which has been my goal all these years.

No matter what the agate is, try to bring out the best that it has to offer.

- [John] Back on the Yellowstone.

- How could you beat this for a living?

- [John] The search yields some possibilities.

- Hard to sometimes tell exactly.

- [John] But they won't really know until they get back home.

- [Tom] Now look at that.

- [John] There are places tucked between the small towns of Savage and Crane, and it's where Tom starts exploring what these agates have inside.

- [Tom] The first part is looking at 'em, washing 'em.

You have to learn what to look for.

- [John] Knowing the structure and patterns of these agates informs the next critical decisions: whether to cut the rock and how to cut it.

(machine whirring) - If you cut it too thin, you're done.

If you cut it too thick, it just creates more work, but you can still salvage the piece.

- [John] This cut yields a beautiful result.

- [Tom] Oh, that looks cool.

Look at the little cathedrals.

- [John] After each step, Tom is always reevaluating the rock to see what's best.

Certain rocks might require delicate carving.

(machine whirring) Some need grinding to highlight features.

And most of them need a good polishing.

What separates Tom's work, his patience and ability to see things others don't.

- [Tom] Two thirds of my collection, a lot of people wouldn't have saved it because the time wasn't taken.

(gentle music) - [John] The results are incredible.

Unique curves, free flowing shapes.

Tom has sold many pieces, but he's held onto some special gems.

- [Tom] I just wanted to build a collection of the very best Montana agate.

- [John] The collection reflects all of Tom's skills, to take something more than 60 million years old and enhance its beauty.

And often that beauty is beneath the surface.

They're called dendrites, dark markings that look like tiny painted trees or the popular moss pattern.

In reality, they're naturally occurring formations inside the stone.

Other agates reveal the delicate details, while these show creativity, with combining three agate pieces to form this Keeper of the Flame.

And sometimes it's a simple find, like this Montana agate with its crust and dimples.

Tom was out picking with his father when his dad spotted the rock.

Years later, Tom cut it, polished it, and revealed this spectacular beauty that is one of the finest Montana agates in their collection.

Accumulating so much knowledge through the decades, Tom wanted to share.

He's now written five different books.

- It's been satisfying because I have had people call and say, "Oh, it's helped me so much, you know."

- [John] From humble beginnings, Tom had a rewarding career.

And everywhere he goes at home, there will be rocks.

- [Cheryl] I have told him he's got rocks in his head.

He does, because that's all he thinks about.

- [John] That's obvious when the family gathers.

It's a condition that's been passed on for five generations and counting.

- [Tina] It's just in our blood, I guess.

- [Jim] Not a lot of families have that kind of connection.

- [Tom] We need to pass it on.

- The family tradition is continuing.

Jim has moved back home and is running and expanding the business so the Harmons can keep sharing their love and knowledge of these unique Montana agates.

(lighthearted music) The Southern Montana city of Red Lodge has a unique history of its own, and a good place to start is the Carbon County Historical Museum.

The repurposed building that used to be the Labor Temple holds impressive collections, displays, and photos of the area's past.

A trip to the basement gives you a sense of the valley's first big business, coal mining.

And speaking of big, learn about a bigger-than-life character in John Liver-Eating Johnson.

He got his nickname by allegedly consuming the livers of those who crossed him.

A great nickname, even if it might not be true.

- He'd apparently never ate the liver.

It was just him messing around.

And his squeamish buddies were not appreciative of that, and they gave him that nickname of John Liver-Eating Johnson, even though he didn't actually eat the liver.

- That's just a small taste of the fascinating history in the Red Lodge area.

In our next story, wildlife art is an ideal way to enjoy nature's beauty from the comfort of your home.

But when you hit the road and head through the small town of Valier, you can experience the same joy without ever leaving your car.

There's a natural talent for painting a 65-foot mural.

- You don't have to have every single line in.

The eye will put it together later.

- [John] And there's a philosophy.

- You know, little things don't matter, but sometimes little things do matter.

- [John] And you need to be a problem solver.

- Well, there's a big drip right there, I see it.

I'll turn it into a weed.

- [John] When the Valier Area Development Corporation wanted to put a mural on the east side of town, artist Athena Mosxona volunteered.

She suggested a field of elk, 50 of them, mostly cows.

- Ladies in waiting.

Well, they're waiting for these guys to finish telling me who, you know, the top one is.

- [John] Soon, the community pitched in, and Athena got help from a dozen other painters, like her new friend Cheryl.

- In my opinion, I think we've developed a bond.

I'm gonna make sure I call her for coffee when we're finished.

- [John] Local businesses provided ladders, lumber, paint, and brushes.

- They actually brought the paint to the scaffolding.

They were really accommodating in every way.

(mysterious music) - [John] Athena began painting in grade school.

Back then, she had a problem with faces, even her own, but practice changed that.

Her mural inside Froggies Bar & Grill is proof.

Here Athena painted 300 faces.

Each one is a recognizable Valier citizen.

In fact, faces would become Athena's stock and trade.

- Actually, I do religious paintings primarily.

(solemn music) - [John] For almost 70 years, she's been an iconographer, painting, visual representations of the saints.

It's an exacting discipline with no room for artistic expression.

An icon must depict what the saint actually looked like.

Each painting is rigorously researched for accuracy, including a detailed history of the saint.

- I like to know the whole story.

It's fascinating what these people went through.

- [John] Athena honed her talent at Illinois State University and at a couple of monasteries.

Then, in the early 1970s, she made her way to Heart Butte, Montana.

- I have been asked many times how did I get to Heart Butte, Montana, and I can only say one way, it's love.

I fell in love with a Blackfeet Indian, and here I am.

(chuckles) - [John] That marriage produced a son, Evan, Now an attorney in Helena.

Evan is also an artist, specializing in Blackfeet ledger art.

Cultural and sacred art is serious work.

Things are much looser back at the mural.

- This is artist license.

(chuckles) It's what happens here, we do what works.

- [John] And as the panorama began to take shape, each day brought a mix of curious onlookers, trucker salutes, (horn honking) and occasional feedback.

- And another one said, "There are no purple mountains, that song is all wrong."

But then a lot of people came by and said they like the purple mountains, so I left it purple.

Everybody has opinions.

Those that you agree with, you change, and those that you don't agree with, you don't change.

- [John] Finally, after two summers, the scaffolding came down and Valier hosted a grand celebration with all the trimmings.

Athena is pleased with the outcome.

- It was also something that you do for the community, not just yourself.

- [John] For Athena, the mural was a pleasant diversion from the complexities of iconography.

After all, a field of 50 elk beneath a canopy of mountains and birch is a far cry from religious art.

Or is it?

- Well, I would agree, 100%, that nature is the art of God.

I mean, look at the colors, the symmetry.

I mean, it's just not something that just happened.

- Especially when that art happens to include a purple mountain.

Athena already has another mural project on the horizon.

The pump house under Valier's old water tower may soon be covered with a field of bright red poppies.

(gentle music) The small city of Red Lodge is part of the greater Yellowstone ecosystem that's teeming with wildlife.

You can get an up-close look at some of those animals at the Yellowstone Wildlife Sanctuary.

The accredited facility provides care to area wildlife unable to survive in the wild.

Animals that are injured or habituated to humans can find a place here.

The result means visitors get a closer look at wolves, bears, birds, and a fan favorite, Roxanne the American badger.

A Red Lodge community group started this in 1983, and it's grown into a sanctuary, which means a lifelong home for these animals.

Our next story takes us to a different kind of sanctuary, where you can find 37 unique horses and even a dragon.

We head to Missoula's riverfront, where locals volunteer to craft and preserve this community treasure.

- [John Thompson] Carving night.

- Can have a lot of projects going at once.

- [John Thompson] Painting night.

- [Kelly] People in and out of the saddles, things get dinged and dented.

- [John Thompson] Mechanical night.

- As this carousel spins, these rotate around.

- It's keep the carousel running night.

It has been for 30-some years.

- [John] And the goal is for kids to keep enjoying the magic of the carousel, but that's not the only reason they gather.

- When we opened, we had a group of carvers that still weren't done after four or five years.

They still wanted to carve and keep going.

I guess it's community.

So we kept a group together, and we call ourselves The Ponykeepers.

- [John] Local artist John Thompson has spent Tuesday nights teaching woodcarving at the carousel as long as it's been turning.

- [John Thompson] I got involved with the carousel because Chuck Kaparich is the man that started the whole thing.

- [John] Chuck grew up in Butte, riding the carousel at Columbia Gardens.

He started carving carousel horses himself with a big vision in mind.

- And then he took two of 'em down to the mayor's office.

Just showed up with 'em one day.

"If you give these guys a home, I'll build you a carousel.

I'll build the city a carousel."

- [John] The project became a part of the development plan for Caras Park.

With the help of thousands of volunteers, they funded and finished the carousel in 1995.

- People would come in and say, "We couldn't do this where I live."

And it made me so proud of Missoula, that so many people came together to make this thing that really reflects the spirit of this community.

- This is purportedly the second fastest carousel in the United States.

Travels at 7.82 miles an hour.

So we have seatbelts on you.

- Is this your favorite?

- Yes.

- Paint is so beautiful, right?

- [John] Just like the children who ride them, the adults all have a favorite too.

- I have so many favorite horses.

My first favorite is Midnight Rose.

- My favorite horse is Silver, because Silver is my family's horse.

- My favorite horse had to be Paint, just because of the vibrant colors and the neat pose.

- I really like Meriwether.

I just like its simple colors, and it's kinda bucking.

- My favorite horse is probably not a horse, it's probably Scafti the Dragon.

- And I carve dragons mainly because everybody in Montana thinks they know what a horse looks like, but you can do what you want with the dragons.

- [John] The Ponykeepers gather every week to share stories.

- Yeah.

- [John] Use their imaginations.

- Trying to make a mule.

- [John] And chip away at creative projects together.

- [John Thompson] I got to carve this goofy nine-foot dragon that's sitting up in the tree.

The old carousels traditionally had a ring machine.

- They have to get the final ring, and they win a free ride.

Congratulations to the rider on Scafti the Dragon!

You got the brass ring, you get a free ride!

- [John] They don't just keep this carousel running, they also work on community projects to pass along the magic.

- We hear of another city trying to build a carousel.

We offered to carve them a horse or an animal for their carousel as a gift from our carousel to theirs.

And since we've opened the carousel down here, the Ponykeepers have done more than 70 projects.

- So I finally matched the paint, and we're working on this section here.

- We're carving a horse that's going to hang at the Missoula Airport.

- Is it?

- Yeah, it's easy, sliding in pretty nicely.

- Nice.

- We've come up with, we call it, the half horse, 'cause it's gonna be mounted up on a wall.

- [John] The carvers ensured the pony's safe passage and installation in the airport.

- Right here.

- For air-bound visitors to see.

- It's kind of a nod to our 30 years of service here.

- [John] Back at the carousel, their work never stops, but sometimes, the Ponykeepers take a break and saddle up.

- All right, let's roll!

(bell dings) - [John] After all, they're kids at heart.

- Here we go.

- Come ride it.

If I'm down here, I'll ride with you.

- The Ponykeepers welcome everyone to join them on Tuesdays.

But for beginners who want to learn the basics, they offer an introductory course each winter.

You can check their website for more information.

(warm music) The small city of Red Lodge has its own artistic flair.

One great example is inside this repurposed train depot.

Since 1982, the Carbon County Arts Guild & Depot Gallery have provided an artistic outlet.

They host a variety of events.

Nearly 140 regional artists showcase their talents throughout the gallery space.

They work in a variety of mediums and touch on history, culture, and the natural beauty of the region.

Sometimes the beauty of natural features defines a locale.

Other times, it's the people.

In our final story, a unique roadside attraction was a sure sign you were entering the town of Roundup.

Now 50 years since its removal, we explore what remains.

(calm music) (bird chirping) On the banks of the Musselshell, a man once saw characters in cottonwoods.

- He'd say, "Oh, look at that man up there in the tree."

You're going, "Where?"

(laughs) But he could see 'em.

I mean, he could picture them.

- [John] The branches, beckoning Lee Steen until he couldn't leave them be.

- [Lee] I'd see if it had two legs and two arms and a body, and I'd put the faces on 'em myself.

- [John] Each limb, he gave a new life by tapping into the used.

- There was a bar that was right across the street, so a lot of the men had, like, bottle caps for their buttons and stuff.

- [John] One after another, Steen's figures grew into a forest of their own.

Passersby pumped their brakes.

And locals leaned in.

- Yeah, when you get close, you really understand what he saw and what kind of an artist he really was.

'Cause you have to be an artist to see that.

- [John] Half a century later, all that's left are a couple cottonwoods of the common variety.

(gentle music) But even when seasons drift by, memories linger.

Historian Lindsay Tran hopes to collect some on a road trip to Roundup.

- There's a lot of stories that you can see, glimmers of kind of at the borders or in the shadows of the main narratives, but they're not cohesive, you know, unless someone tries to pull them out into the light and kind of weave them together.

Yeah, he's right here.

And it says Lee Speck Steen.

1897 to '75.

Look at how small his plaque is compared to Dee's.

Like, his is just teeny-tiny.

- [John] His life began as a twin.

Lee and Dee were so small they could share a shoebox for their bumpy ride up from Kentucky.

- [Lee] Got into Montana by horse and wagon.

- Lee and Dee lived on this property.

- [John] The Steens' remaining relative in Roundup, his great niece, Debbie Moses.

- I could pretty much remember what tree they came out of.

And he actually was very smart about it because he did use exterior paint, so it didn't weather.

- [John] But Lee Steen himself was already a weathered man by the time he started spending time on the sculptures.

He'd been a cowpuncher, a cafe cook, married and divorced twice, and a doting father.

- [Sharon] Daddy always wore a hat, suit, attractive tie, and well-shined shoes.

Later, his taste ran more to a cowboy hat, plaid shirts, and jeans.

Who else could visualize a belt buckle from a cookie cutter or a hat in a mayonnaise jar?

- [John] Motorists stopped for the curiosity.

They stayed for the Steens.

- And people would stay here for hours and listen to their stories.

- [John] John Armstrong was one of those visitors.

As a baseball player from Laurel, his traveling team would look up when his mom slowed down.

- She was the one that brought attention to the carload of boys, that there was something very interesting to see on the right side of the road as we entered town.

- [John] When John became director of Billings Yellowstone Art Center in the early 1970s, he envisioned bringing the tree people to a new audience.

- We picked out a number of them, seven of them.

He took $15 for it.

It was $3 more than he wanted.

- [John] But when John returned to the living lumberyard about a year later, Lee wasn't there.

His family had moved him to a senior living facility in Missoula, closer to his daughter, Sharon.

John made his plea to preserve Lee's works for the public.

- I decided we really gotta save 'em.

All of 'em.

- [John] When Sharon agreed, John immediately set out to round them up.

He documented each piece and curated them for exhibits in Billings, Arizona, and Chicago.

Eventually, nearly 200 of Steen's sculptures found a permanent home at Paris Gibson Square in Great Falls.

- It's just surprise and awe.

Just mostly awestruck wonder.

You know, you are looking at the individuals, you're creating a conversation in your mind about what that figure's saying to you or what are they saying to one another.

- [John] Fewer and fewer folks remember what it was like to see the stick men where they were made.

- He used to have those guys right out along the highway out there.

- [John] Lindsay thought she was born too late for that.

But to her surprise, these survivors- - [Lindsay] At least two faces.

- [John] Perhaps overlooked in the overhaul, paled in time, and yet they still show what Lee Steen saw.

- The two eyes are two knots.

The average guy wouldn't see that without it being pointed out to you.

- [Lindsay] It felt as close as I was able to get to hearing Steen speak about his work for himself, was seeing the work in the environment where he created it.

- All the trees around here gotta be cut down.

- One substantial sculpture stayed in the family.

Debbie's husband, Stephen, hopes to return it to public view.

Perhaps back to the big bend of the Musselshell, where the road meets Roundup.

While the largest part of Lee Steen's work is on permanent display at Paris Gibson Square in Great Falls, 40 other pieces ended up in a private collection in Arizona.

And there's no telling how many figures he sold right out of the yard in Roundup.

Those could be anywhere.

Well, that's all the time we have for this episode.

We'd like to thank the great folks of Red Lodge for welcoming us.

It's a great spot to visit any time of the year, whether skiing Red Lodge Mountain in the winter or driving the scenic Beartooth Highway after the snow has cleared and it opens.

We're open to some great story ideas from you.

If you've got one, drop us a message on our Facebook page.

Or you can always write to us at Backroads of Montana, University of Montana, Missoula, Montana, 59812.

We've got more great stories to share and two lanes to travel.

I'm John Twiggs, and we hope to see you out on the backroads of Montana.

- [Announcer] "Backroads of Montana" 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.

♪ Montana is my home ♪ ♪ From mountain peaks to prairie lands ♪ ♪ The places I have known ♪ ♪ And I'm bound to ramble ♪ ♪ Yes, I'm bound to roam ♪ ♪ And when I'm in off the road now, boys ♪ ♪ Montana is my home ♪ ♪ Comin' in off the road now, boys ♪ ♪ You know I'm headin' home ♪ (warm music) (bright music)