Sivertsen named to Montana Cowboy Hall of Fame

Bob Sivertsen’s longtime motto is "If it's to be, it's up to me."

That attitude has led to a lot of community service, business involvement, rodeo work and ranching on the Hi-Line.

And that work has led to him chosen as the Hi-Line inductee into the Montana Cowboy Hall of Fame for 2013.

“I’m very humbled,”Sivertsen said. “So many people are more deserving of this award.”

Sivertsen said his love for and his belief in the Hi-line is what has prompted him to become involved in the community so much.

“I am always disappointed to hear people say that the Hi-Line is dying, and there’s nothing we can do,” he said.

Instead, he sees the area as a hub for commercial and transportation growth, and he plans to be part of it.

This is the sixth class of inductees into the Hall. One living person and two deceased are inducted from each of 12 districts around the state. Induction plans will be announced soon.

Sivertsen, 75, was born on a ranch in the Bear Paw Mountains, 50 miles south of Chinook.

It didn’t take him long to get into the ranching business. He started his own ranching business when he was 17, and soon leased the Bea Molitor Ranch, staying there from 1957 to 1982.

In announcing his pending induction, the Cowboy Hall of Fame pointed to his accomplishments:

• He rodeoed for 27 years, riding saddle bronc, bareback and bulls.

• With a distinctive radio voice, he became a rodeo and sports announcer in KOJM and KPQX. He also worked as the agriculture reporter.

• He served eight years in the Montana House of Representatives

• He was a founder of the Hill County 4-H Foundation and was a 4-H leader for 28 years. He received the 4-H Distinguished Service Award.

• He was a board member of the Rocky Mountain Association of Fairs. In 1987, he was president, and in 1988, he was named Fair Person of the Year.

• He has owned B&B Auction Service for 52 years, having done commercial and charity auctions in five western states.

• He was the state coordinator of the Great Montana Centennial Cattle Drive of 1989. The event marked Montana’s 100th anniversary of statehood. He helped organize the 3,200 riders, 4,500 head of horses and 3,500 head of cattle that took part in the celebration.

• He was the originator and longtime coordinator for the annual Christmas dinner in Havre, where people join together for a free Christmas dinner and meals are delivered to shut ins.

Sivertsen was also a member of the Havre Jaycees and received the group’s outstanding service award.

In recent years, Sivertsen has spent much of his time advocating for an expanded U.S. Highway 2.

He chairs the Highway Association, a group that favors the expansion of the Hi-Line’s main highway from two to four lanes. He is also involved in several organizations that attempt to bring more commercial and tourist traffic to the Hi-Line.

He hopes to see the Havre area become a commercial, transportation and tourism hub for the area by having better transportation facilities.

The opportunities for the Hi-Line are endless, he said.

The area is blessed with tremendous resources and a great location.

But its biggest asset, he said, and what makes it worth working for, is its people.

“There are great people in the Hi-Line.” he said. “The best people on earth.”

“I’ve left several times, but I’ve always come back.”

Two others named to Montana Cowboy Hall of Fame

Two deceased Hi-Line residents will become legacy inductees into the Montana Cowboy Hall of Fame this year.

Brand inspector Jack Siebrasse of Big Sandy and Elmer Weaver, a rancher from Warrick in the Bear Paw Mountains, have been tapped for the honor.

Jack Siebrasse was born in Portland, Ore., in 1923, but his family moved quickly to Big Sandy, and that began his lifelong love of the Bear Paw Mountains.

At age 8 or 9, he started riding cattle for McNamara Cattle Co.

He joined the Navy in World War II “because I don’t like to walk,” his biography said.

After his time in the service, he couldn’t wait to get back to “the Paws.”

While taking cattle to the Great Falls livestock yards, he noticed that cattle buyers were the ones with Lincoln Continentals and Cadillacs. They were also wearing $100 Stetson hats.

Soon, he was hired as a livestock brand inspector for the state of Montana.

The only problem was that his job took him to Butte, where he said he felt as out of place as a “nun in a poker game.”

After two years, he took a job riding on the Rocky Boy’s Indian Reservation. He was back in the Paws.

One day, he met up with a field man for the Montana Livestock Department who hired him as the brand inspector for the Havre stockyards.

In his 30 years on the job, he made a lot of friends and threw a few bad characters in jail, the Hall of Fame said in its press release.

He and his family lived on Bullhook creek south of Havre.

On the job. he loved telling the stories of old-fashioned cowboys and their lifestyles. He strived to keep the history alive for the younger generation.

Despite his outward rough appearance, he always told his children and grandchildren the importance of taking care of the poor and sick, and he always opposed any mistreatment of animals.

He died in 1996.

Elmer Weaver was born Aug. 7, 1895, in Chinook. His father, William Weaver, owned a saloon in Chinook and raised horses.

Elmer was attracted to the horse side of his father’s businesses. That became his life passion.

His love of horses and Montana led him to become friends at a young age with Charles M. Russell.

At 17, he moved to Geraldine and bought a livery stable. Over the next few years, he traded horses, purchased a cattle herd and bought and leased land for the cattle.

He soon became expert in all sides of the horse business.

On April 26, 1916, Elmer married Vona May Thomas in Fort Benton.

Vona had ridden the train out from Missouri with her mother and brothers in the summer of 1915. Four sons were born to Elmer and Vona: Roy in 1917, Howard in 1923, Earl in 1927, and Arthur in 1929.

In 1925, his ranch burned to the ground. He was able to salvage a few things, and he purchased a ranch in Warrick in the heart of the Bear Paws.

Elmer handled his horses and cows, and Vona drove the team with her two little boys in tow.

The 1930s were rough times in the ranching industry. but because of his business acumen, his business not only survived but expanded

The Cowboy Hall of Fame praised Weaver for his hard work, business sense and determination. When Elmer passed away suddenly June 16, 1952, he had succeeded in building up a large ranch with hard work and determination.

Because of his work, he helped his four sons start their own ranches.

“He was able to do all these things even though he left home at a young age with little in his pocket,” the Hall of Fame said in its press release.

“It is men like Elmer, who left a legacy by settling and improving the land that made it possible for those who came after to continue in the ranching lifestyle.”