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During a speech to the Fruitvale Lions Club of Mesa County, Colorado, Al Look discourses on all manner of subjects related to Colorado History, including the geologic history of the Grand Mesa and Grand Valley, the lack of rat species native to Western Colorado and Eastern Utah, Ute and American Indian History, and dinosaurs. This recording is made available via signed release by the Mesa County Oral History Project, a collaboration of Mesa County...
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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...
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Velma Budin discusses the history of her family in early Twentieth century Fruitvale, Colorado. The interview was conducted by the Mesa County Oral History Project, a collaboration of Mesa County Libraries and the Museums of Western Colorado. *Photograph from the 1925 Colorado Agricultural College yearbook.
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Velma (Borschell) Budin discusses the history of her family in early Twentieth century Fruitvale. The interview was conducted by the Mesa County Oral History Project, a collaboration of Mesa County Libraries and the Museums of Western Colorado. *Photograph from the 1925 Colorado Agricultural College yearbook.
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Margaret Stump talks about her childhood on a fruit farm in Fruitvale, Colorado, growing up without electricity or plumbing. She also discusses her lifelong involvement in local churches, and her education at the Ross Business College and subsequent job as a bookkeeper. 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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Charlotte (Jackson) Claar describes growing up on a homestead in Cheyenne County, Colorado, where the family witched for water, built an adobe house, and held jack rabbit drives. She speaks about moving to Grand Valley, Colorado (now Parachute) in 1920. She talks about her 37-year career as a teacher and then principal in Grand Valley, at the Clifton School, and at the Fruitvale School. She discusses her father and husband’s careers on the railroad....
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Tom Charles talks about moving to the Fruitvale area of Mesa County, Colorado in 1907, his family’s fruit orchards, and the history of fruit growing in the Grand Valley. Emma (Berg) Nagel describes her family’s homestead in the Highpoint area north of Fruita in 1894. She speaks about living in a dugout for three years, clearing the land for cultivation, and the family’s fruit orchard. Charles and Nagel both discuss the various crops grown around...
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Neil Straayer describes his immigrant journey from the Netherlands to Grand Junction, Colorado in 1911, and his struggle to learn English upon arrival. He also discusses apple farming and peach farming in Appleton, Fruitvale, and other areas of the Grand 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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Helen Wilson talks about the life of her father, Robert “Bob” Ross, co-founder of the Ross Business College, important educator in Fruitvale, Colorado, and an early settler of that 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 1936 Grand Junction High School yearbook.
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Ruth Smith and Isabella Cunningham, former reporters for The Daily Sentinel, recall their careers at the newspaper during the 1920’s through 1940’s. Cunningham talks about covering railroad news and events, including the institution of a sixteen-hour-day law for workers. They remember two young children that were killed when playing with dynamite in Fruitvale. They describe the annual Christmas party for needy children that was put on each year...
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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 Summer Fun, about...
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Eva Wood Leslie discusses her family’s farm life on Pinon Mesa, Colorado, sheep farming, chores done around the home, and school teaching 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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Madge Davis talks about her early life in Clifton, Colorado, including childhood games she played, Fourth of July picnics in No Thoroughfare Canyon, and holiday celebrations. She also discusses other aspects of life living on a ranch, including home furnishings, homemade clothes, handcrafts, her father cutting ice from the Colorado River, and schooling. The interview was conducted by the Mesa County Oral History Project, a collaboration of Mesa County...
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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 The Great Depression. This...
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Joseph John Egger discusses his family’s history in Mesa County, and Mesa County agriculture in the late Nineteenth and early Twentieth centuries. 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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Mesa County, Colorado resident Henry Spomer describes growing up in a German settlement in Russia, including home life, farm practices, schooling, and the Lutheran Church. He talks about moving to Nebraska in his teenage years to escape looming military placement during the Russian Revolution, and eventually moving to Mesa County, where he worked as a beet farmer, railroad employee, and janitor for the Lowell School. The interview was conducted by...
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Loyd Files talks about his early life in Kansas, moving to Colorado with his family via covered wagon in 1914, and the process of filing for a homestead. He remembers homesteading with his parents in Lamar, Colorado, and with his brother in Glade Park in 1920. He recalls working on the crew that built the Serpents Trail over the Colorado National Monument, meeting John Otto, and helping build Rimrock Drive over the Monument. He speaks about his marriage...
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In a lecture and panel discussion at the Palisade’s Taylor Elementary School, Evelyn Kyle speaks about the history of the Mesa County Oral History Project and its invaluable role in collecting local stories. An interview panel of Evelyn Kyle, Paula Buttolph, Mary Faye Hampton, and Luella Morgan speak about their lives, the lives of women in the area, and Western Slope history. This recording is made available via signed release by the Mesa County...
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Dr. Addie (Russell) Maynard tells stories of her life as an osteopathic doctor in Mesa County, Colorado, including a time when she helped a woman give birth on a train with barely any supplies. She also touches on the social life in Grand Junction when she was a child, changes throughout the years in the practice of medicine, and the various medical resources available to early Mesa County residents. The interview was conducted by the Mesa County...
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Dale T. Luke talks about his work as a builder and contractor in Grand Junction, Colorado, and about his involvement in the Orchard Mesa Lions Club and other community organizations. Dale also discusses the change in population of Grand Junction over the years as related to the uranium boom. 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...