World War (1939-1945)
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Nevada Burford discusses the history of her pioneering parents, who came to Grand Junction in 1882 and homesteaded in Kannah Creek. She also talks about the Handy Chapel and Grand Junction’s early African-American community. The interview was conducted by the Mesa County Oral History Project, a collaboration of Mesa County Libraries, the Museums of Western Colorado and the Mesa County Historical Society.
*Transcript for Tape 2 of 4 only.
Format:
Voice Recording
Earl Laycock talks about running the Laycock Motor Company with his brother Austin Laycock in the 1920’s and 1930’s. He speaks about the role the Post Office played in financing car buyers when local banks closed during the Depression, and about giving driving lessons to new car owners. He describes working as a mechanic for Consolidated Steel in Long Beach during World War II, after rationing made the sale of new cars difficult. He discusses...
Format:
Compound
Lorene Roice talks about her childhood growing up on a farm in Kansas, childhood chores, music, dances, dating, holiday celebrations, and her involvement in 4-H. She also discusses her life in Grand Junction, Colorado, her husband Joe Roice, and their cofounding of the Roice-Hurst Humane Society, Grand Junction’s first animal shelter. The interview was conducted by the Mesa County Oral History Project, a collaboration of Mesa County Libraries and...
Format:
Voice Recording
Mrs. Rose Perry relates her son’s experience on the U.S.S. Helena, a Brooklyn-class light cruiser used by the U.S. Navy in the Pacific theater of World War II. The Helena was one of the cruisers attacked in Pearl Harbor, and was directly torpedoed by the Japanese. The Helena survived the attack and was assigned to assist in the Guadalcanal campaign. It helped to destroy several Japanese aircraft and battleships and contributed to American victories...
Format:
Voice Recording
Grace Traynor talks about her son Harold Baker Wood and his service as a Boatswain’s Mate aboard the USS Arizona during the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. She discusses her son’s death during the attack and subsequent medals he received. She speaks about the enlistment of her sons in the armed forces during the Great Depression, when jobs were scarce, and about their lives in Grand Junction as young adults. The interview was conducted...
Format:
Compound
Grace Wade talks about her childhood growing up in Cripple Creek, Colorado. She goes into detail explaining the layout of the town, the street car system, the red light district, her school, and her home. She mentions her studious piano practice that led to her advanced playing ability, her yearly trips to Texas and Denver to see her family, and her family’s tradition of going to University of Texas. She describes her teaching career in Cripple...
Format:
Voice Recording
Don Burgess talks about enlisting in the US Army during World War II, receiving basic training as a gunner on B-17’s and B-24’s, and being stationed in England with the Army Air Corps. He describes his first bombing mission, a raid over Berlin. He speaks about his grade school years in Montrose and Grand Junction, about playing high school and college sports, and about playing on a conference-champion football team at Mesa Junior College during...
Format:
Compound
Helen Johnson talks about helping teach a WPA-funded dance class during the Great Depression. She speaks about other government programs, such as the Civilian Conservation Corps, and how they helped the people of Mesa County, Colorado during the Great Depression. She describes working for Douglas Aircraft in Los Angeles to manufacture airplanes during World War II, where she became the lead in her section. She talks about her brief career teaching...
Format:
Video
Evelyn Kyle, the first coordinator of the Mesa County Oral History Project, discusses her role in expanding the program shortly after its inception in 1976, and describes colorful personalities that she met through the project. She also talks about her life in the performing arts, establishing and acting in community theaters around Western Colorado, about her experiences during the Dust Bowl and World War II, and about her marriage to Jim Kyle and...
Format:
Voice Recording
Al Look talks about his reaction to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941. He speaks about his son’s service in the Navy during World War II. He reminisces about his own service in the US Navy as a gunner’s mate during World War I and about the mobilization of resources for the war effort in the United States. The interview was conducted by the Mesa County Oral History Project, a collaboration of Mesa County Libraries and the Museums...
Format:
Voice Recording
Mary talks about her early childhood in Kansas as one of nine children and her family's move to Colorado upon the death of her father. Mary details the train and its passengers during the move, including Russian immigrants coming to work the beet fields, and her mother's outreach. She mentions her mothers career training riding horses as a way to support the family. She talks about her relationships, children, and the struggle she faced trying to...
Format:
Voice Recording
Jack Williams, an automotive dealer and realtor from Grand Junction, Colorado, talks about his experiences in World War II’s Pacific Theater. He describes sitting on the deck of a destroyer in Pearl Harbor when the bombing began on December 7, 1941. He describes the aerial attack by Japanese forces, the mobilization of US Naval forces, and receiving credit for the downing of a Japanese plane. He discusses engaging with Japanese submarines in the...
Format:
Voice Recording
Julia Harris discusses hearing about the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, when she was hosting a Republican Party event for a special congressional election at her home on the Grand Mesa. She describes finding out about the bombing from the radio and from a local telephone operator who called people in the region to inform them. She talks about younger relatives of hers who joined the Navy after Pearl Harbor, about the general absence...
Format:
Voice Recording
Thatcher Shaw, a foot soldier and occupation lawyer during and after World War II, talks about the reaction of people in the United States to the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. He speaks about attitudes towards German and Japanese people at the start of the war. He discusses his experiences as a private and officer during World War II. The interview was conducted by the Mesa County Oral History Project, a collaboration of Mesa County...
Format:
Compound
Wayne N. Aspinall describes his enlistment in the Air Service of the United States Army at the start of US involvement in World War I and his enlistment for World War II at the age of 48. He speaks about the necessity of discipline in upbringing and in the military, changes in basic training from World War I to World War II, the necessity of military training, the obligation of military service, and his philosophy on war and the duties of citizenship....
Format:
Compound
In a letter read aloud to his niece, Marion Echternach talks about the history of his immigrant family in the United States, including their settlement in Oklahoma in 1880. He speaks about his boyhood in Peckham, Oklahoma. He discusses the “land boom” in Palisade, Colorado at the beginning of the Twentieth century and his family’s role in settling the area. He remembers visiting his brother Bill, an employee at the Liberty Bell Mine near Telluride....
Format:
Voice Recording
Lloyd Bullington talks about his enlistment in the Army 18th Engineers just prior to US involvement in World War II, his recruitment into the then new 804 Engineers, and constructing a runway in Kauai at the time of Pearl Harbor. He discusses his experiences building runways in contested areas just behind the front lines in the Pacific Theater. The interview was conducted by the Mesa County Oral History Project, a collaboration of Mesa County Libraries...
Format:
Voice Recording
Thatcher Shaw discusses his time spent as a US Army lawyer processing claims by German civilians for damages caused by American soldiers during the allied occupation of Germany after World War ll, and his later work as a judge under US civilian control. He also recounts his memory of the Yalta Conference, and talks about the Nuremberg Trials, which he attended on numerous occasions. This recording is made available via signed release by the Mesa County...
Format:
Voice Recording
John Andrew Sigmon describes lying about his age so that he could join the US Navy in 1931. He tells about life in the Navy and working on destroyers prior to World War II, and about transferring to submarine duty just prior to US involvement in World War II. He talks about being stationed in Hawaii during the attack on Pearl Harbor, and about receiving commendation for shooting down a Japanese plane on December 7, 1941. He describes submarine munitions,...
Format:
Voice Recording
Billy Weil talks about his service in the U.S. Army before and during World War II. This interview was conducted by the Mesa County Oral History Project, a collaboration of Mesa County Libraries, the Museums of Western Colorado and the Mesa County Historical Society.
