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On the occasion of the Mesa County Historical Society annual picnic (circa 1980), Julia Harris, an early Grand Mesa resident, lectures about the history of the area, with information about a 1910 earthquake in the Cameo area, the construction of the Plateau Canyon Road, De Beque in the 1880’s, the captivity of Josephine Meeker on the Grand Mesa after the Meeker Massacre, an old Native American cemetery near De Beque, and Republican Party happenings....
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Anna Foster describes the history of her family, her life as a school teacher, and the history of the town of Mesa, Colorado. 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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Carl Forsman, the son of Swedish immigrants, talks about early life in the town of Mesa, Colorado. 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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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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Dick Lloyd talks about cattle ranching in Western Colorado both before and after the Taylor Grazing Act, about moving cattle around to different grazing areas in Colorado, and about shipping them to Denver by rail via the De Beque Stockyard. He speaks about training horses and using horses to herd cattle. Bertha Lloyd discusses her courtship with Dick, their chivaree and their marriage. The two of them describe homesteading in a log cabin on the Grand...
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Edith Sisac talks about growing up in the Pomona area of Mesa County, attending the Pomona School, and riding her bike to Grand Junction High School along the railroad tracks in the early Twentieth century. She recalls the grocery store in Grand Junction owned by Roy Sisac, her husband’s father. She speaks about the Mesa Lakes Resort and the Mesa Lakes Ski Run, which were owned and operated by the Sisac and Foster families, and about the development...
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In an interview from May 14, 1981 (audio only, no transcript), Basil T. Knight talks about his youth in Michigan, meeting his wife’s family in Palisade, Colorado and ultimately moving there, operating a fruit farm, and becoming a lifelong teacher and school administrator. He explains the mechanisms that originally funded the many smaller school districts on the Western Slope, including taxes on railroads, and the reasons for the consolidation that...
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Craig Aupperle talks about Grand Junction, Colorado’s first cemeteries, funeral houses, and mortuaries. He also gives an account of pioneer funeral rites and ceremonies, including burials led by horse-drawn buggies. He then discusses the locations of early roads, including the Rhone Creek Toll Road from Mesa County to Glenwood Springs, and the Hogback Road to Plateau Valley. The interview was conducted by the Mesa County Oral History Project, a...
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Clem Goettelman explains his time as an employee for The Daily Sentinel under Preston Walker as the publisher. He discusses his position as a union leader before the Typographical Union Strike, conflicts within the work environment, Walter Walker’s involvement with and subsequent opposition to the Ku Klux Klan, and The Daily Sentinel being one of the only papers in the country to quickly cover President Theodore Roosevelt’s death with a full...
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Anna E. Craig discusses her upbringing in Mesa, Colorado, including her social experiences, her father’s life as one of the few doctors in the area, the Mesa County Fair, her holiday rituals, methods of preserving food, and what it was like to own a hotel in Mesa. She also talks about an instance in the 1890’s when hundreds of sheep were driven over a cliff by cattle ranchers on the Grand Mesa, and other strife between cattle and sheep ranchers....
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Bessie Jane Milholland talks about her childhood growing up on a ranch in Molina, Colorado and how her family earned a living selling butter and other dairy goods. She describes trips to Grand Junction in horse and buggy, trading and selling handmade goods, and her education at the rural Molina School. She talks about her eventual move to Grand Junction after marrying her husband, Danford Wheeler, their life there, and the tasks of a homemaker. She...
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Will Silzell discusses ranching in Western Colorado in the early Twentieth century, and the pioneer history of his family in Whitewater. 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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Emma Conner talks about the lives of her parents and grandparents, Mesa County pioneers. She speaks about her early schooling at the Franklin School and work in her grandmother’s boardinghouse. She details restrictions that were put into place during the Spanish Flu epidemic of 1918. She discusses the railroad occupations of her father and husbands, and a rail accident that killed her second husband. She talks about downtown Grand Junction’s dirt...
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Howard Shults talks about life growing up in Collbran, Colorado in the early Twentieth century, including farming, local schools and his father’s teaching career in “trouble” schools, local people, and his juvenile hijinks. He also discusses breaking horses, “leaded horses” exposed to the pesticide lead arsenic, wild horses, raising and driving hogs from Collbran to De Beque, and winning the Ft. Logan Military Training School boxing championship....
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Vesta Fitzpatrick talks about growing up in Buena Vista, New Castle, and De Beque, Colorado. She remembers the family’s homestead and life in De Beque, and her role as a homemaker from an early age due to her mother’s illness. She speaks about country school life. She details the dances that took place, including costume, masquerade, and “hard time” dances. She recalls living in Uravan during World War II, where her grandchildren played in...
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Albert William Karp talks about the incident that handicapped him as a young man and how it affected the rest of his life. He mentions his addiction and mental health issues. He describes his first guide dog and the process for getting one. Lastly, he explains how he came to be a volunteer for Alcoholics Anonymous and other notable charities. The interview was conducted by the Mesa County Oral History Project, a collaboration of Mesa County Libraries...
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Thomas Campbell of Clifton talks about the roads, towns, farms, ranches and geography of places throughout Mesa County, Colorado. He speaks about the Molina flour mill in the town of Molina and about the history of local agriculture. He talks about the history of Clifton, its settlement, and churches. He describes early agriculture and methods of clearing the land for crops. He remembers aspects of peach, pear and apple growing, including pests and...
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Ina Dyer discusses life as a schoolteacher in Mesa, Collbran, Fruitvale, and Grand Junction, Colorado, including methods of punishing students, teacher’s pay, and her relationships with fellow teachers in the area. 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. *Photograph from 1943 Grand Junction High School...