Local Artist, Greg Eiselein, Shares His History, and his Largest, Historic Project

In 1882, the town of Roundup was established consisting of a little log store, a saloon, and an annual roundup that inspired the towns name. Twenty six years later, Greg Eiselein's grandfather Alfred William Eiselein established the Roundup Record. As it is recorded in "Roundup On the Musselshell" (available at the Museum), Young Alfred edited and published a newspaper in Danube, Minnesota. In March of 1908 at 23, he headed west landing in Miles City. Greg told me that within the next day Alfred was on his way to the new town of Roundup. Within a month, Alfred had published Roundup Record's first news edition dated April 3, 1908.

Alfred went to art school to be a political cartoonist. He didn't do that for very long and gravitated towards journalism. Greg remembers his grandfather agonized over every sentence that he published. He recollects that Alfred loved when the oil and coal business expanded in the Roundup area and he loved writing about it. Greg fondly remembers the press. His grandfather had, to feed each sheet and flip it, print it, and roll it out. In Greg's words, his grandfather was "not a physical man", but would have to fix the machines himself in agony. There was a competitive newspaper called "The Tribune" which Alfred purchased in 1929.

Alfred married John Johnson's youngest daughter of ten children, Preat Johnson, in 1912. John Johnson had homesteaded where his grandson Greg and his wife now reside. Alfred and Preat raised their children, even sending the three surviving Louise, and Betty, and Alfred Jr. to the University of Montana.

Alfred and his faithful printer, Willard Clark, published the newspaper until he turned it over to his daughter and son-in-law, Louise and Ken Rasmussen. They continued to publish the paper and later, Alfred's grandson Eric Rasmussen, Gregs cousin, would continue the publishing through 2017. The Roundup Record and Winnett Times was a family paper spanning three generations until it sold in 2017 to Henry and Kay Bedford. It is currently operated by Dave Ponte and his wife Kathy.

Preat inherited her fathers ranch on Willow Creek at the foot of the Snowy Mountains. Alfred and Preat purchaced cattle for the ranch and kept it going. Alfred died in January of 1967 at 83 years of age. Alfred Jr, Greg's father, then inherited it, and Greg and his wife live there to this day. Most of the ranch has been sold but Greg and his wife live in the home they built on the original ranch.

Greg had one brother who has now passed away and two sisters. Grgg was born after his brother, then Sara and Preat (Grandmother Preat's namesake). Greg has two children, Dan Eiselein, a coach and history teacher, and daughter, Natalie Schaff, who also teaches at Roundup High School, and their children making up five generations in this area.

Greg has always practiced art since he was a young boy. He has his grandfather Alfred's art book form his time at art school. Greg's grandfather on his mother's side, an Italian, was meticulous in calligraphy with a steady hand, and was also somewhat artistic, not so much in drawing, but writing and building things. Greg started sculpture when a foundry moved into Roundup in the late 60's. He says he got really excited and made a "Pest" of himself. He learned to process what it takes to cast a sculpture. From the molds to casting, through the whole process of building a bronze. He started producing other things, casting them and selling them. Then the market went away after about three years.

Greg produced over fifty bronzes throughout his career. The pressure to produce and the society of the art world became a strain, he left his art career for 10 or 12 years. During that time he ran cattle, did logging projects, ran a logging business for 27 years, managing timber for different owners, a career change that was easier to make a living from.

Greg has never stopped producing artwork, and is currently in the largest project of his lifetime. A historical monument piece of Teddy Blue Abbot pushing longhorns across the Musselshell River on his way to the Judith Basin, inspired from the book "We Pointed them North".

The finished monument will stand on the southwest portion of the lawn at the Musselshell County Courthouse. Greg has created a small version of the monument, and is still sculpting the full-size version of the monument. The Musselshell Valley Historical Museum is currently raising money and accepting donations for the casting end of the project. Greg is gifting his work on this project to the community, no small gift, as he has spent endless hours creating this larger than life monument that will be "a car stopper" according to Bill Edwards.

If you would like to donate to this monument for our community, tax deductible cash donations may be made payable to: TBA Monument, c/0 Linda Yount, 320 – 4th Street West, Roundup, MT 59072. An account has been established at First Security Bank in Roundup.