Lereaux William Emery (October 31, 1874 – February 4, 1953) was an American businessman who owned many transportation companies and lodges, and expanded tourism into the

National Park A national park is a natural park in use for conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individua ...

s. Roe Emery was known as "the Father of Colorado Tourism". Emery raised sheep in

White Sulfur Springs, Montana White Sulphur Springs is a city in and the county seat of Meagher County, Montana, United States. The population was 955 at the 2020 census. The center of population of Montana is located in White Sulphur Springs. White Sulphur Springs was or ...

. In 1914, he was one of two principals of the Glacier National Park tour buses called Red Jammers, the first authorized motor vehicles in the National Park system. The

Grand Lake Lodge The Grand Lake Lodge hotel was opened in 1920 to serve tourists visiting Rocky Mountain National Park via the Trail Ridge Road, completed the same year. Located in Grand Lake, Colorado, the rustic lodge was founded by Frank Huntington and Roe Em ...

, built in 1920, was purchased by Emery in 1923 and was the start of lodging acquisitions, becoming a stop on his Rocky Mountains Circle Tours. He owned

The Stanley Hotel The Stanley Hotel is a 140-room Colonial Revival hotel in Estes Park, Colorado, United States, about five miles from the entrance to Rocky Mountain National Park. It was built by Freelan Oscar Stanley, Co-founder of the Stanley Motor Carriage ...

from 1930 to 1946. Emery was president of the National Western Stock Show. Emery's son,

Walt Emery Walt is a masculine given name, generally a short form of Walter, and occasionally a surname. Notable people with the name include: People Given name * Walt Arfons (1916-2013), American drag racer and competition land speed record racer * Walt Bel ...

, was part of the family business and later was a co-founder of the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquar ...

. His grandson was

Mark Udall Mark Emery Udall ( ; born July 18, 1950) is an American politician who served as a United States Senator from Colorado from 2009 to 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served in the United States House of Representatives, represe ...

, a

United States Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and p ...

from

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...

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1874 births 1953 deaths 20th-century American businesspeople {{US-business-bio-1870s-stub