LIVING INDUCTEE
GERALD R. “JERRY” PETERSEN
DISTRICT 6 - YEAR 2026
On September 1, 1933 in Omaha, Nebraska, a son was born to Christian and Inga (Andersen) Petersen, a farming and ranching family. Jerry was the middle child, joining three other brothers and one sister. He attended grade school west of Omaha and graduated high school at age 17.
While growing up, his family used horses and mules for farming, but Jerry's real love were horses, cows and the cowboy way of life with a passion for rodeo, so on March 12, 1952, he headed west for Cheyene, Wyoming to make his fortune as a cowboy. He found employment with Burt McGee, a rancher in Wyoming, helping calve, hay, and break horses. While there he honed his skill with young horses, spending hours in the saddle breaking colts.
In 1954, Jerry headed north to Winnett, Montana, where he heard that R.B. Fraser was looking for help near his Black Butte Ranch in Central Montana. Jerry was hired to help calve out the bred cows and heifers.
On the morning of July 9, Jerry was bringing three cows into the corral. At the gate they split and went three different directions. Being the “Southpaw” cowboy he was, rope crazy, and tying the rope hard and fast to the saddle horn, Jerry roped one of the cows to change her mind. She hit the end of the rope, and the horse was jerked off his feet, landed on Jerry's left leg and broke it. Luckily, he always carried a sharp jackknife and was able to cut the rope and free the cow while still having a grip on the reins. Thinking there was still a chance to get back to the bunkhouse, broken leg and all, he attempted to mount the horse with his good right leg. The horse said, "No thank you," and promptly kicked his right leg, breaking his ankle. Jerry did have a canteen of water, and was able to cut the cinch and build a shade from the glaring sun with his saddle. Late in the evening he was finally spotted, loaded in the back of a pickup on his saddle blanket and taken to town. Jerry credits his jackknife and canteen of water for saving his life. While it was a slow and painful recovery, B.W. and his wife, Bunny Gremaux paid Jerry $5.00 a day when he was able to work. Room and board was generously provided the rest of the time. When he went back to see his folks, his Dad said, "Next time we'll probably see you in a box."
Perhaps his dad had a premonition that Jerry would lead a rough and tough life as he had more wrecks that used up several of those so called “nine lives.” One occurred when gathering cattle to ship in the fall. Trotting through a pasture that had a slight dip covered in buck brush, his horse fell into an abandoned mine shaft and landed on top of Jerry with all four legs pointed to heaven. He was pinned from the waist down and tried in vain to get the horse up using his bridle reins. Finally, after many attempts, the horse rolled over the top of Jerry and floundered up. Thankfully, no broken bones. However, when tearing down an old building, the roof collapsed, and Jerry suffered another broken leg. His crutches have never had a chance to gather cobwebs.
After a brief stint in the John Day country of Oregon, Jerry headed back to Montana where he met up with good friend and rodeo partner, Lee Fields. They rodeoed together, team roping and calf roping. Jerry tried his hand at bull dogging and 3-man wild horse races. Good times were had by all until it was finally suggested by Lee’s mother that it was time to find a job, so Jerry headed to Martinsdale where he worked for the Voldseth Brothers for eight years.
Central Montana still had an allure for Jerry with many good friends, including the friendship with Lee Fields, which is still vibrant after 71 years. So, in the spring of 1964, he borrowed money from his dad to buy some cows and that began his ranching career of “Jerry working for the cows, not the other way around." He was always looking for grass for his cattle so in 1970 he leased the Ed Dunn place by Gilt Edge, and in ‘73 he purchased the ranch, saying, " It was the best move I ever made."
Jerry always had a love of reading and preserving the history of the area. He has an extensive collection of arrowheads mounted in picture frames and other memorabilia which he has donated to the Central Montana Museum in Lewistown. In the 1970s he was an active member of the Sheriff’s Posse, led by Sheriff Jimmy Karro and Sheriff Jack Songer. This volunteer organization helped patrol large events in the area. Always willing to lend a helping hand and because of his cowboy way of life, Jerry has set up a permanent endowment with the Central Montana Foundation to provide an added purse each year to the top four cowboys in the calf roping event at the Central Montana PRCA rodeo.
Jerry met Linda Slining in 1989, and they spent 32 wonderful years together until she passed away in 2022. He still has a small place near Gilt Edge and runs a few cows in the summer. Throughout Jerry's life he enjoyed the fact that he had colts to break and horses to train. At 86 years-of-age, Jerry hung up his saddle for the last time. No truer words were ever spoken than, "Once a Cowboy, Always a Cowboy!"