John Otto
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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 Making of a Legend:...
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Compound
Darwin Burford discusses growing up in Whitewater, Colorado in the early Twentieth century, and going to school in Mesa County, Colorado. Darwin talks about the early narrow gauge railroad that serviced Mesa County, about the Barnum and Bailey Circus, daily childhood chores, playing cribbage as a family, and his argument with John Otto. The interview was conducted by the Mesa County Oral History Project, a collaboration of Mesa County Libraries,...
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Voice Recording
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.
Format:
Voice Recording
A series of radio interviews on a show called the Local Scene (on an unidentified radio network, possibly KREX) with Grand Junction newspaper columnist, amateur historian, geologist and paleontologist Al Look. Look discusses the geology and archaeology of Mesa County, the geologic history of the Colorado National Monument, and local personalities Harold Bryant and John Otto. These broadcasts are made available via signed release by the Mesa County...
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Voice Recording
Harry Peck was the grandson of Routt County pioneers Harry B. Peck and Emma Hall. Harry and his father, Ray Peck, both worked for the United States Forest Service in the Grand Mesa National Forest, and he describes their experiences there. He also talks about helping John Otto with trail-breaking on the Grand Mesa. The interview was conducted by the Mesa County Oral History Project, a collaboration of Mesa County Libraries and the Museums of Western...
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Voice Recording
Don and Mary Roth discuss ranching on the Colorado National Monument and surrounding area, John Otto, and interactions with Ute Indians. 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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Voice Recording
James Earl Shaw and Creston Ralph Bailey talk about the history of their families in Mesa County, and discuss their families’ roles in the automobile and grocery businesses respectively. They mention people and places important to Grand Junction. They also reminisce about their experiences at the Presbyterian church camp on the Grand Mesa, and all the antics they pulled while growing up. The interview was conducted by the Mesa County Oral History...
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Voice Recording
A lecture given at Regis College by Al Look, a Mesa County historian and amateur paleontologist. Look discusses the geology of Grand Junction, the Grand Mesa, and surrounding area. He also describes the multitude of dinosaur fossils found in this area. 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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Voice Recording
Dorsey G. Son discusses his career as a surveyor for the Colorado State Highway Commission operating in Southwestern Colorado. 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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Voice Recording
Willis Blevins and his wife Lotus discuss their life as farmers in the Redlands, the history of the Redlands Community Center and the Redlands Women’s Club, and Willis’s career as a lumberyard worker and owner. 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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Voice Recording
Walter and Elizabeth Anderson discuss John Otto, the Colorado National Monument, and the history of Mesa County. 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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Voice Recording
John Collier talks about his upbringing on a farm in Grand Junction, Colorado, on ranchland and farmland in the Redlands, and on a homestead in Pinon Mesa. He speaks about the history of the Sleeper and Ela family’s ranching operations on Pinon Mesa. He describes his Uncle Joe Collier, who served as the Mesa County Sheriff during Prohibition, and a bootlegger’s attempt to blackmail him. He discusses what he perceives as the effect of uranium prospecting...
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Voice Recording
John Collier explains his childhood growing up as a homesteader in Pinon Mesa and the Glade Park area, and living in a tent until a cabin could be built. He talks about how his father made money in real estate, farming hay, selling horses, selling lumber for corrals, raising sheep and cattle, and skating on the frozen Redlands Canal. He mentions important landmarks and buildings in and around Grand Junction, Colorado. The interview was conducted by...
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Voice Recording
Eileen O’Toole discusses life growing up on her family’s farm, one of the first on the Redlands. 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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Voice Recording
Early Mesa County resident Joseph John Egger describes his travels to the Grand Valley area, the Colorado National Monument, the differences he perceived between Utes and Navajos, and information about Chief Ouray and Chipeta. 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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Voice Recording
Lucy Ela discusses John Otto, the Colorado National Monument, and the settlement of Glade Park. 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 1936 Grand Junction High School yearbook.
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Voice Recording
Al Look talks about singing in a quartet, publishing books on Mesa County history, and fishing. He also discusses various people and places of the Western Slope. 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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Voice Recording
Laird Smith talks about his grandfather Frank Smith’s severe case of Tuberculosis that caused the doctor to move with his family to Grand Junction, Colorado. He describes the apartment next to a saloon where the family lived on Main Street, where drunken men would sometimes crawl in through the windows by mistake. He discusses his father Silmon Smith’s “spartan” upbringing, his camping alone on the Grand Mesa for long stretches when he was...
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Voice Recording
Dr. Everett Munro discusses his service in the U.S. Army’s medical reserves during World War I, early vaccination campaigns in Grand Junction, life as a rural doctor doing house calls, and other aspects of early Mesa County history. 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.
Format:
Voice Recording
Wyatt Wood and Al Look discuss their involvement in the construction of Rim Rock Drive on the Colorado National Monument, early scenic photography of Mesa County, early Mesa County bands and parades, and Wood’s time spent working for the Grand Junction Chamber of Commerce. 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...
