Something Special in Cleveland, Montana

There’s a place on the eastern Montana plains where People’s Creek and the Bear Paw Mountains meet. It’s a place they call Cleveland.

On first glance there’s not much to Cleveland except for a saloon (when it is open) and a one-room schoolhouse (which serves one student). And it would be perfectly fair for those passing through to think nothing special ever really happens there. But they would be wrong.

Every spring, as the stiff Chinook winds begin to melt away a long winter’s snow, neighbors – often separated by many miles – come together to help gather each other’s cattle and brand them with the mark of their ranch. It is a tradition few people outside of Cleveland ever get to see.

Yes, Cleveland is quiet, but something special happens there every day…especially in the spring.

These are real cowboys; not the ones you see on the silver screen, but men and women who work hard every day to fight Montana’s harsh weather, the struggle of raising a family, and whatever else the good Lord throws at them.

This is their story.

You can get to Todd’s Montana photography website by clicking HERE.