Where We Are
The Montana Radio Café front porch, and home of the Johnston Family, is located in the pristine setting of northwest Montana. Just north of the small town of Creston, on Route 35, we’re able to reach listeners all over the Flathead Valley with our low-power tower.
We sit just west of the Swan Mountain Range and Bob Marshall Wilderness, outside the center of Kalispell, and only 30 minutes from Glacier National Park.
Folks driving by on Route 35 can usually find us by noticing the neon “On Air” sign on the front porch. We enjoy hearing them honk as they go by.
Check out Glacier webcams on our Community page.
The Music
It seems that many have the same desire for good music that Scott does! As of March 15th 2008, the Montana Radio Café has been on the air for 4 years! It’s truly the American dream come true as Scott plays the eclectic selection of music he loves, and all from the front porch of an old farm house in Montana!
The enthusiastic response has come from everywhere as people listen from around the world on the internet! With a music library of over 17,000 songs from artists that are super talented but not well known, the Montana Radio Café has grown in many ways over the last 3 years; the station now has it’s own concert series, a store with products to purchase to help support the station, a blog from Scott’s head to yours, and much, much more! It’s also a great trip to check out the gallery, and the links to various North West Montana web cams.
Still to come, at some point we will have podcasts of recordings made in the studio with visiting musicians, and our own blend of coffee.
We’ve gotten some great press the last two years, including a great article in the Montana Quarterly. Check out the link to the article below.
Article in the Montana Quarterly Magazine. Click below.
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In an effort to spread the good music of the Montana Radio Café, see the letter Scott’s daughter, Vanessa, wrote to Katie Couric of the Today Show, and Oprah. As of today, neither one has replied. BUT, we would like to invite you to email your encouragement to these two fine ladies to feature the Montana Radio Café on their programs, and thus expose us to the world!
Again, welcome! Thanks for listening and encouraging us in our quest to play the great music nobody else plays.
Letter from Scott’s daughter, Vanessa. It was originally sent to Katie Couric
and Oprah Winfrey.
Dear Oprah,
In rural Montana, outside of a town called Kalispell, there is a faded yellow farmhouse with a spindly metal antennae set up in the yard. Every day people stop by to meet the man who lives there and runs the greatest radio station in the entire three county area off of his front porch.
The Radio Station is called Montana Radio Café, and the man is Scott Johnston, my dad.
Ever since I was a little kid, dad has worked more than one job at once, (sometimes three at the same time with long hours) to support our family of eight. He started as a radio DJ at a country radio station and went from there to his other jobs—doing everything from fighting wildfires to selling fire alarms. That was fifteen years ago. Since then, he has made ends meet for us and managed to feed our friends, lonely strangers, and some hitchhikers who spent the night, by doing jobs for which he left the house at 4:30 in the morning and drove over an hour on ice-slicked roads, pasted on a smile while trying not to be miserable for our sake, or came home (more filthy than a miner) only once per week.
The yellow farmhouse has been the constant throughout it all, with it’s revolving host of barnyard animals passing through the small farm. We started with goats, selling the milk, and Mom has had her chickens for years. At times, the farm has resembled a home for wayward beings, hurt horses, and teenage kids. Now, it is finally the home for a dream in the early stages of realization.
The radio station has been on the back burner of Dad’s mind for at least a decade, probably more. If there is anything that my three brothers, two sisters, brother in law, husband, mom and dad all agree upon, it is that Dad is an expert in at least one field—talking. He loves it, entertains with it, and has made a living at it for years. The Montana Radio Café is his shot at the stars, doing what he is best at.
If you call his radio station, he can play for you all of the clips he has recorded from people who have called in and told him how much they love the music he plays, the way he runs his station, and the things he says. If you sit at the big red table that dominates the warm farmhouse kitchen, you will invariably hear the same from the people who stop by to poke their head in and meet my dad, the local celebrity.
At the end of the day, I am lucky enough to be on the sidelines as the greatest game is played—that of hope realized, and the making of an American dream. Stop in; say hello. Mom will feed you some fresh baked bread, and you can choose one of the twelve types of tea from the tea box on top of the microwave, while dad tells you the story of the Montana Radio Café.
Thank you,
Vanessa Hutchinson
The Family
Scott and Marie met in Martin City, MT, where Marie was born and also worked at her parent’s grocery store. Marie was working in the deli area when Scott walked in on Valentine’s day groaning that he didn’t have a valentine. Marie, within earshot, replied sarcastically “You can give me a valentine”. Scott, who had never met Marie before (and didn't know she was in the store), was so embarrassed, he left the store. But they married later that same year - 1977.
They’ve raised six children. They moved to the farmhouse in Creston in 1986 when their youngest son, Graham, was one year old.
Over the years, the farmhouse has been a place for much work...and fun.
Marie home-schooled their children in this house for 13 years, and also ran a daycare at the house for two years. Other jobs to support the family have included running a candy route, running a vegetable stand, growing and selling elephant garlic.
Scott did everything from construction to driving a school bus...and of course, radio. He worked at various local stations for over 18 years.
Thusfar, they have had six wedding ceremonies in their backyard.
Above, sitting in the future company car on their property: Isaac, Scott, Marie, Graham, Jesse, Michone, Charis, Vanessa – and their dog Cricket. If you look carefully, you can also see their dog Smokey (the dog that sings on the station) between the two kids in front.
In 1987, the Johnston kids in front of the vegetable stand. Their dog Willie on the left.
With a backdrop of the Swan Mountains, the family with Jose the wonder-horse, Smokey the dog, and various other animals.
The kids are grown now. Oldest son, Jesse and his wife Jessica with family in August 04.
The youngest son, Graham, was married May 6, 2006 near the Creston Farmhouse.
The Farmhouse
Kitchen stove
Of course, the center of the home is the kitchen.
People love to sit around the big red table (built by Scott) and taste Marie's delicious home-made bread. The style of the kitchen indicates it was built in the late 1800s and may be the original homestead cabin. The two-story section of the house was built in 1916. There is still only one bathroom in the home.
There are some intriguing stories about the history of this property.
According to one story, two of the Felburg brothers (who’s father had the house built) hid a moonshine still under a work-horse stall in a barn that was on the property. The barn has since been torn down.
Stories also say there is a dead body buried somewhere on the land and there may be gold from a train robbery buried on the property. Years ago, before the Johnstons moved in, witnesses noticed many holes around the property where people had come to dig for the gold.
Moonshine whiskey, dead bodies and buried gold. It doesn’t get more Montana than that!
The Johnston’s are only the fourth owners of the property.
The Bark
The bark you occasionally hear on air is one of the family dogs.
Smokey is one of the sweetest dogs you’ll meet. His favorite position seems to be on the floor of the kitchen, on his back - legs in the air just waiting for a rub. With a completely open heart, this old dog has definitely been loved on.
Smokey. (Smokey loves you)
Sing, Smokey, Sing!
See What People are Saying about the Montana Radio Cafe
Missoulian - 5/7/2006
Missoula Independent - 5/26/2005
Daily Interlake - 4/18/2005
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