Mesa County Oral History Project

The Mesa County Oral History Project began as a joint project of the Museums of Western Colorado and Mesa County Libraries (MCL) in 1975. The Oral History Project collected tape-recorded interviews with pioneers of Mesa County and surrounding areas, and interviews with the children of pioneers. The Central Library housed the duplicate audio cassettes and provided patron access to the histories. The Museum stored the master tapes and kept files and transcripts related to the oral history collection. The Mesa County Historical Society also contributed significantly to the Oral History Project by collaborating with the library and museum to select interviewees, and by providing interviewers and other volunteers. Mesa County Libraries no longer partner with the Museum in housing duplicate copies of tapes. But the library now works with the Museum to digitize interviews from the Mesa County Oral History Project and to provide online access to the interviews through Pika, the library catalog. The Museum continues to house the original audio cassettes, interview transcripts, and other source material for the project. The Library and the Museums of Western Colorado still record oral histories with residents who have important knowledge of the area’s history. Please note that some interviews contain language that listeners or readers may consider offensive. Mesa County Libraries does not condone such language, but has included interviews in their entirety in the interest of preserving history.

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First Interview with Warren John Kiefer
Warren Kiefer talks about his career as a fireman and engineer on the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad, and working the line between Grand Junction, Colorado and Salt Lake City. He gives specifics about the technical aspects of the fireman position on a steam locomotive. He speaks about the relationship between the fireman and the engineer, and tells stories about comical and contentious interactions between different workers. He explains the purpose the caboose on the train as a place for a worker to watch for potential mechanical problems. The interview was conducted by the Mesa County Oral History Project, a collaboration of Mesa County Libraries and the Museums of Western Colorado. *Note: The transcripts for this interview have been machine-created and do contain inaccuracies. In time, each transcript will be audited by a human being to ensure greater accuracy.
First Interview with Wayne Aspinall
Wayne Aspinall describes his boyhood in Palisade, Colorado, his education at Mt. Lincoln School and the University of Denver, and his career as a schoolteacher, fruit farmer, lawyer, and U.S. Congressman. The interview was conducted by the Mesa County Oral History Project, a collaboration of Mesa County Libraries and the Museums of Western Colorado.
First Interview with Wilbur J. "Bill" Raber
William Raber talks about his family’s ranch in the Kannah Creek area of Mesa County, Colorado, and about the development of reservoirs and water projects, beginning with the city of Grand Junction’s diversion of water from Kannah Creek around 1910. He also talks about traveling by train with cattle that he intended to sell in Los Angeles, and about discrimination that he experienced during World War I as the son of German immigrant. 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.
First Interview with William "Bruce" Howard
Bruce Howard talks about leaving failed crops behind in Kansas during the Dust Bowl, and moving to Fruita, Colorado to farm. He also discusses establishing one of the first Black Angus herds in the Grand Valley, working as a peach orchard supervisor, working in Fruita’s large cucumber pickling operation, and wallpaper installation.
First Interview with William Charles "Bill" Rump
Bill Rump talks about his father Charlie Rump and his roll in developing the Redlands in Mesa County, Colorado as a member of the Redlands Company and the Redlands Water and Power Company. He recounts the efforts of those companies in creating orchards and other agricultural enterprises on the Redlands. He speaks about the Redlands School, roads, sports, youth activities, and other aspects of life on the Redlands and in Grand Junction. He remembers his father’s management of both the Public Service Company and the Interurban railway. The interview was conducted by the Mesa County Oral History Project, a collaboration of Mesa County Libraries and the Museums of Western Colorado. *Above photograph of Bill Rump from the 1929 Grand Junction High School yearbook.
First Interview with Winifred C. Bull
Winifred Bull discusses her education in Grand Junction’s schools, her career teaching Latin at Grand Junction High School, the medical career of her father, Dr. Heman R. Bull, the life of her uncle Edwin Price (founder of Grand Junction’s first newspaper), and the Spanish Flu epidemic of 1918-19. 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 the 1943 Grand Junction High School yearbook.
First Interview with Wyatt M. Wood
Wyatt Wood describes his time as the manager of the Grand Junction Chamber of Commerce and talks about the people he met there, including John Otto, who at one time was allowed to keep a desk in the Chamber office. The interview was conducted by the Mesa County Oral History Project, a collaboration of Mesa County Libraries and the Museums of Western Colorado.
First Lecture by Abbott Eastman Fay: Early Spanish influence in Colorado
Professor Abbott Fay speaks to a meeting of the Mesa County Historical Society about the Spanish influence in Colorado, the expedition of Escalante and Dominguez in 1776, and trapper Antoine Robidoux. This recording was provided by the Mesa County Oral History Project, a collaboration of Mesa County Libraries and the Museums of Western Colorado.
First Lecture by Al Look: Dinosaurs, Geology and Natural History of Mesa County, Colorado
Al Look speaks to an unidentified audience about dinosaurs, mammals, and the geology and natural history of the Mesa County, Colorado 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.
First interview with Emma (Hollett) Nicolay
Emma (Hollett) Nicolay discusses her parent's journey to Colorado by covered wagon, how she kept busy growing up on a homestead near Norwood, Colorado and her schooling to become a dietitian. She also talks about her work in US Army hospitals as a dietitian during World War ll, and her later work in hospitals in Denver and California. 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.
First interview with Raynel "Ray" Bernal
Ray Bernal talks about his early life in the Grand Valley and the wide variety of jobs that he held, including work as a "gandy dancer" on the railroad, mining, farming, thinning beets, janitorial work, and herding sheep. He also discusses a group breakfast he had with President Harry S. Truman, where Truman's daughter staged a musical performance. 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.
Folk Art: Fanfare for the Common Man, a Lecture by Steve Friesen
Steve Friesen, longtime director of the Buffalo Bill Museum in Golden, Colorado, speaks to an audience at the Museum of Western Colorado about American folk art. 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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