Virgelle to Victor (No. 101)

First Aired May 1, 1991

Since 1991, the Backroads crew has traveled across Montana visiting its unique people and places. The series airs regularly on MontanaPBS.

We meet the couple running one of Montana's four remaining Missouri River ferries, learn the story of the Bitterroot Barnstormers (a group of radio-controlled airplane enthusiasts from the Victor area), and drop by the homesteader town of Virgelle to meet a man who's working to keep the town alive. And we take in beauty above and below water at Giant Springs near Great Falls, the sights and sounds of Holter Lake near Helena, and Cemetery Island, an Old West Boot Hill.

Program Updates
There is still a ferry at Virgelle although Bob and Lorraine Otto won’t greet you when you ring the buzzer. Bob died in 1998, Lorraine, in 2017. There is now a bridge at Loma, but you still have to take a ferry in Carter. The Virgelle Mercantile is still open – they’ve added a few more homesteader cabins and the luxury of a nice bathhouse. The Bitterroot Barnstormers are still buzzing the skies with their model planes and share their videos on their Facebook page.