How It All Began

75 Years of Cars

By Christian George
Managing Editor, Lander Journal

Amid hardship and devastation felt nationwide because of the Great Depression and World War I, a couple of Fremont County men decided they wanted to become business owners in Lander. In April 1938, Clyde Guschewsky purchased McRae Motor Co. garage and Ford agency.The store, which sat where Cowfish restaurant is today, would continue selling Ford and Lincoln cars and have a general garage business. However, Guschewsky and co-owner Blair Stouffer of Riverton changed the name to Fremont Motor Co. According to a news article in the Lander Journal's predecessor, the Wyoming State Journal, Guschewsky and Stouffer established themselves in the business world with the Riverton Garage, which they purchased a few years prior. The arrangement was for Blair to manage the Riverton business and Guschewsky to oversee the Lander dealership. A shop foreman, mechanic, parts man, record keeper and car salesman staffed the local branch. Guschewsky was a former auto mechanics instructor at Fremont County Vocational High School, now Lander Valley High School, and engaged in the motor business during the summer months. "His desire to get into business for himself was gratified when opportunity came to purchase the Riverton Garage in 1936," the article states. An advertisement about the acquisition ran in the same newspaper. "Clyde and Blair, as well as the Ford Motor company are determined that the Lander Agency shall be outstanding, both in the service given and in the satisfaction of the customers," the ad reads.

Seventy-five years later that sentiment continues to be the driving force for the company. "It's not necessarily planned or expected," Chuck Guschewsky said about the company's success. "We just want to provide the best sales and service we can to the markets, and the company's grown because of that." Clyde Guschewsky passed away in 1953 – before he could see how his sons and later grandson, Chuck, not only kept the business afloat but also expanded it to be the state's largest automotive dealership. Today, Fremont Motors has dealerships in Lander, Riverton, Cody, Sheridan, Rawlins, Powell, Rock Springs, Casper and Scottsbluff, Neb. Franchises represented at the stores are Ford, Lincoln, Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, GMC, Toyota, Chevrolet, Volkswagen and Buick. Fremont Motors also has a management company based in Lander. The most recent acquisition was Gary Broderick Superstore in Riverton. The Lander GMC dealership has since been moved to the Broderick's building. The former GMC store in Lander will now house Ameri-Tech Equipment Company, a branch from the headquarters in Casper, which is also owned by Fremont Motors. "It's the people," Chuck Guschewsky said about what makes the company thrive. "I think it's an organizational culture where everybody realizes none of us are perfect, and we all do the best we can to provide the best service to the markets we serve." He spoke of a culture of teamwork among the company's 450 to 475 employees statewide that sets Fremont Motors apart. "There is also a large percentage of longtime employees that is a resource of knowledge," he continued. "I'm really pleased with how people join the organization and look at it as a career, not a job."

Family

Despite the growth, one thing about Fremont Motors that has remained is the unwavering family roots. When Clyde passed away, his sons Jim and Bill became partners in the store. Chuck Guschewsky said his father, Jim, was in his early 20s at the time serving in the Army as a 2nd lieutenant paratrooper with the 82nd Airborne Infantry. He received an honorable discharge so that he could return to Lander and help his mother, Bessie, and brother, Bill, run the family business. After graduating from college in 1979, Chuck Guschewsky came home with a business degree and ready to work for his father and uncle. Bill retired in the early 1980s and in 1989, Jim appointed his eldest son president of the company. Jim passed away in 2003. "I always had an interest in the business," Chuck Guschewsky said. He recalled going out on wrecker calls with his father as a boy. He also worked part time washing cars in middle school. But the great success doesn't overshadow his desire to see it continue to flourish at the hands of future generations. "It's becoming a real rarity in this industry that things evolve into a fourth generation," he said. That rarity is reality for Fremont Motors as members of the Guschewsky family, including Chuck's youngest daughter, continue to work for the company.

Success

Propelled to the president's chair, Guschewsky said he did not necessarily plan to take the business where it is today. His focus, rather, has always been the present. "You take care of the job at-hand," he explained. Dealership acquisitions began in 1992 with a store in Cody. Guschewsky said Fremont Motors had developed processes that increase survivability, something essential when a business is family-owned. The new business model, Guschewsky said, helped sustain operations into the future. The process and strategies were developed for the Lander based-store, which by then had moved to its current location on Highway 789 known as "the hill." "Those operational standards and procedures were a matter of survival," he said. "As we developed them, it became apparent they made operations efficient and viable." Fremont Motors applied the operating procedures to the Cody store, which proved to make the dealership successful. "That concept still continues," Guschewsky said. A black and white photograph of Fremont Motors when it was once located on the corner of South Fifth and Main streets hangs on the wall in Guschewsky's office, serving as a reminder of how far the company has come over the years. "I love it," he said about his job. "That's a key element, not just for me, but I think that's a key element for everybody in this company."