Cleaola Ernst talks about moving to Colorado from Kansas on a narrow-gauge train in 1897, when she was five years old. She speaks about her nursing education and working as a nurse. She remembers her family’s life in Hotchkiss, Colorado, and the general store that her parents ran. She tells the story of an eagle that purportedly picked up a small girl near Norwood, and how her family came to be in possession of the eagle after it was shot. She remembers...

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’...