Distinctly Montana Magazine

105 w w w. d i s t i n c t l y m o n t a n a . c o m Local, family, and employee-owned property management in Big Sky, Bozeman, Bigfork and Whitefish. BEST PROPERTY MANAGEMENT COMPANY Partner with a company you can trust! 406.556.6858 staymontana.com/join FINALIST FOR BEST ART GALLERY IN MONTANA. 137 CENTRAL • WHITEFISH, MONTANA 406.862.2731 • GOINGTOTHESUNGALLERY.COM On that day, the Cremers' truck slid off the road and rolled down a hill. Cremer leaped from the truck, probably the same way he would have if thrown from one of his buck- ing horses back in the day. But this time he did not escape. Cremer broke his back and later died. He was a legend, the likes of which Montana will never see again. And he was gone far too young. As the rodeo world and the state of Mon- tana mourned his death, his death also became national news, as his life touched so many. On his passing, a newspaper in Spencer, Iowa wrote: "Not everyone knew the man behind the show. Leo J. did not come to Spencer to make millions. Mr. Cremer already had his millions. He was a man of honesty and integrity here." As the story goes, the sponsor of the rodeo, Spencer's Jaycees, lost dearly when Cremer's rodeo came to town. Though his ro- deo would fill venues in some of the largest cities in America, it was somehow a financial flop in Spencer. But, as the newspaper recounted, Cremer settled up and made the Jaycees whole. And after doing so he said, "Boys, we lost our shirt, but shall we try it again next year?" The editor wrote, "One thing (is) certain, Spencer will not see a finer rodeo produced here ever again and it will be some time before another stranger comes into Spencer and northwest Iowa and has greater faith in our community. He gave as if (we) were his very own." This was clearly Spencer, Io- wa's first real-world introduction to Montana's "Cowboy Code" and Cremer's very special version of it. Cremer was considered one of the most honest men in rodeo. So honest, in fact, he often negotiated "contracts" for rodeos whose terms were never spelled out in writing. Agreements were not executed with a signature but with "a handshake be- tween two Western gentlemen," which is even more remarkable considering Cremer studied law. After his death, many venues around the country were left in a quandary, not knowing whether or not Cremer's rodeo would show up at their scheduled event to entertain spectators. How could they without the late great Leo J. Cremer? The Iowa State Fair, Colorado State Fair, Montana State Fair and others didn't know what to do. Bertha and Leo Jr. stepped forward, rolled up their sleeves, and made sure Leo J. Cremer's World Champion- ship Rodeo Company fulfilled every single contract. Later, Gene Autry, the "Singing Cowboy," purchased a half interest in Cremer's rodeo. Autry, a world-famous actor, mu- sician, singer, composer, rodeo performer, and owner of the California Angels baseball team, became friends with Cremer over the years. He even stayed at the ranch and wintered his horse Champ there on occasion. Autry eventually bought all of Cremer's rodeo stock, which included "207 bucking horses,

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