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Gertrude Rader talks at length about the Tabequache band of the Ute and her frequent contact with them when they camped in Kannah Creek during their annual return migration from the mountains of Colorado to the Uintah Reservation in Utah in the early Twentieth century. She discusses her memories of Chipeta and describes Ute customs she observed. She talks about her pioneering grandfather, and about a serious sheep and cattleman conflict that occurred...
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To mark the centennial celebration of the town of Grand Junction, Colorado in 1981, the Mesa County Oral History Project wrote and recorded several radio plays about local history. Beginning on September 26, 1981, local radio stations KSTR, KREX-AM, KREX-FM, and KMSA broadcast the plays. Authors of the plays used interviews recorded by the Mesa County Oral History Project as inspiration. This archival recording contains the play Annual Ute Visitation. This...
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Craig Aupperle discusses his knowledge of John Otto, his associations with Utes who passed through the Grand Valley in the early Twentieth century, and his life in trade and manual labor. The interview was conducted by the Mesa County Oral History Project, a collaboration of Mesa County Libraries and the Museums of Western Colorado.
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Hubert R. Gallagher discusses his father’s career on the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad, early 20th Century life in Grand Junction, and his own career in the Federal Government. The interview was conducted by the Mesa County Oral History Project, a collaboration of Mesa County Libraries and the Museums of Western Colorado.
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Anna Cunningham describes her family’s journey out West from Connecticut, and their pioneer life living on a homestead near Meeker. She also talks about her life living in Mesa County. 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.
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Arvid Muhr talks about his family of Swedish Immigrants, about peach farming on East Orchard Mesa in Mesa County, and about the development of irrigation water in the Grand Valley. Mr. Muhr also discusses the Teller Institute baseball team, made up of American Indians that attended the school, and about working on a hydroelectric dam near Palisade. The interview was conducted by the Mesa County Oral History Project, a collaboration of Mesa County...
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Gertrude Rader talks about the New Deal and its effect on her farm in Loma, Colorado. She then describes at length the migration of Ute tribal members from the Ouray/Silverton area to Eastern Utah every fall in the early Twentieth century, their camping near Rader's childhood home in Kannah Creek, and her observations of the Ute people. She also discusses her family's pioneer history in the Whitewater/Kannah Creek area, her time teaching in rural...
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Kenneth Thompson describes his life growing up on a farm on Glade Park, Colorado during the early 1900s. Kenneth also discusses the working conditions while employed for the National Park Service during the early days of the Colorado National Monument, the slow pace of life and the social aspects of living on Glade Park, hunting and killing a bear, and stories of the Indians who lived in Mesa County. The interview was conducted by the Mesa County...
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William Ela talks about his family’s arrival in the Little Dolores River area of Mesa County in 1881 and their establishment of the 2-V Ranch. He tells stories about his grandfather, the pioneer rancher and Grand Junction town mayor William Phillips Ela. He remembers his grandfather’s horse Looney and his escapades. He speaks about the dangers of travel to and from Glade Park in the early days. He recalls stories passed down about his ancestors’...
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George Knowles talks about the history of his father’s carpentry and construction business in Fruita, about fighting as a soldier in World War I, and aspects of early Mesa County life. Esther Knowles discusses her family and early Twentieth century life in Plateau Valley. The interview was conducted by the Mesa County Oral History Project, a collaboration of Mesa County Libraries and the Museums of Western Colorado.
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Four radio programs written by Wilson Rockwell, based in part on short histories he wrote for his book Sunset Slope, and broadcast in the Grand Junction area on KREX in the late 1950’s or early 1960’s. The programs include: Episode 29 – The Death of Chief Ouray (0:00), Episode 30 – The Last Days of Chipeta (14:57), Episode 31 – Conquest of the Black Canyon (29:15), Episode 32 – The Ute Indian Legends (42:03). These broadcasts are made...
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Bernice Carney tells the story of her German immigrant parents and their homesteading life in Kansas and Collbran, Colorado. She also discusses her life growing up on a ranch, teaching in Glade Park, and her nurse’s training. 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.
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Al Look talks about the history of the Ute Indian tribe in Colorado, about their relations with the U.S. Government, conditions at the White River Agency, and about the events leading up to the Meeker Massacre. This recording is made available via signed release by the Mesa County Oral History Project, a collaboration of Mesa County Libraries and the Museums of Western Colorado.
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Elizabeth Angus talks about teaching in Atchee, Colorado, now a ghost town, in the early 1920’s. She remembers the life and history of the company towns that served the Uintah Railway, a gilsonite mining enterprise. She speaks about the Ute people who would visit the general store in Mack, Colorado. She describes certain employees of the Uintah. She talks about Baxter Pass and the environment of the Bookcliffs. The interview was conducted by the...
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Gertrude Rader discusses her time spent teaching in Loma, Colorado in the early 1900s. She talks about the role of the sugar beet company as landowner and employer in the area. She includes details about the schools, businesses, and churches that existed in Loma, her involvement starting Mesa County’s first hot school lunch program, and her experiences attending an annual fish fry in Horsethief Canyon. Gertrude also shares memories about the many...
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Sisters Dorothy (Raber) Beard and Marjorie (Raber) Likes talk about the history of their family in Fruita, Colorado. They speak about Will Minor, the goat herder and self-educated photographer, author, and amateur lepidopterist who discovered the butterfly Papilio Indra Minori on the Colorado National Monument. They discuss homesteads that the Beard family owned in the canyons that comprise the current day McInnis Canyons National Conservation Area....
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Anna Foster talks about teaching at the Mesa School, beginning in 1908. She remembers some of the teachers and students at the school, and going sledding with them for fun. She speaks about the role of the Mesa’s Methodist church in providing community for people of all Christian faiths. She describes stagecoaches that delivered between towns, traveling the old Hogback Road from Palisade, and the building of the Plateau Canyon Road. She recalls...
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In a three part interview with Mesa County Oral History Project folklorist Elain Thatcher, George Watts talks about his life and shares poetry, songs and stories. In part one, he talks about his childhood in Hayden, Colorado, the early death of his father, and growing up on a 200 acre farm. He shares several poems and stories, including some tall tales. He remembers the people of Hayden. In part two, he speaks about the importance of song during...
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Four radio plays written by Wilson Rockwell, based in part on short histories he wrote for his book Sunset Slope, and broadcast in the Grand Junction area on KREX during the late 1950’s or early 1960’s. The programs include: Episode 13 – The Escape (0:00), Episode 14 – The Meeker Massacre (12:48), Episode 15 – The Ambush (28:34), Episode 16 – Professional Killer (42:46). These broadcasts are made available via signed release by the Mesa...
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Charles Burg tells stories from his father about his interactions with the Ute during a US Army deployment near Montrose, Colorado. He talks about settlers and ranchers of the De Beque area, including Dave Knight, a Cherokee from Oklahoma who utilized native plants in a traditional way. He describes a “garter” brand on a horse, horse breaking techniques for wild horses, the origins of the wild horse population in the Bookcliffs, stray cattle gone...