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 Sterling Smith
Sterling Smith, executive officer of the C.D. Smith Drug Company, talks about the childhood and life of his father, C.D. Smith, who founded the company. He describes his father’s success and the growth of his business into one of the first drugstore chains in Colorado. He discusses diversification of the business as it became involved with wholesale candy sales, chemical manufacture, and real estate. He talks about activities of C.D. Smith and the company that helped shape Mesa County. He reads letters and articles about C.D. Smith and about C.D. Smith’s father, Burrell Smith. 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 1934 Grand Junction High School yearbook.
First Interview with Thatcher Leslie Shaw
Thatcher Shaw discusses his time spent as a US Army lawyer processing claims by German civilians for damages caused by American soldiers during the allied occupation of Germany after World War ll, and his later work as a judge under US civilian control. He also recounts his memory of the Yalta Conference, and talks about the Nuremberg Trials, which he attended on numerous occasions. 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 Velma E. (Borschell) Budin
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.
First Interview with Vesta (Price) Fitzpatrick
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 uranium mill tailings and in mill tailings ponds. 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 Virgil Francis Hickman and Edithe M. (Eakin) Hickman
Virgil Hickman and his wife discuss their lives growing up around Mesa County. Virgil’s grandfather began as a miner in Palisade and Cameo, Colorado, and his family turned to fruit farming. Hickman describes planting the first fruit orchard on East Orchard Mesa, the labor involved with peach growing, and the development of the area. He touches on the businesses, social scene, and Christmas celebrations in Palisade during the early 1900s. 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 Walter Daniel "Bud" Bradbury
Walter Bradbury talks about haying operations run by his family in the Kannah Creek / Whitewater area in the late Nineteenth and early Twentieth centuries. He details equipment used in haying, the horse stables in Grand Junction to which the family sold hay, the kind of clothing worn by the hay team, and the pay and duties of the hay crew. He describes the beginning of the family’s cattle ranching business, how cream was sold to the Challenge Creamery and Surface Creek Creamery, beef butchering and inspection, cattle drives and roundups. 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 1936 Grand Junction High School yearbook
First Interview with Walter Everett "Walt" Dalby
Walter Dalby, founder of local accounting firm Dalby, Wendland and Company and flight enthusiast, talks about the history of the Grand Junction Regional Airport and about the companies and people involved in the local air travel industry, including: Clyde Davis, Walter Walker, and Eddie Drapela. He also talks about balloon rallies and airshows held in Grand Junction. The interview was conducted by the Mesa County Oral History Project, a collaboration of Mesa County Libraries and the Museums of Western Colorado. *Photo courtesy of the accounting firm Dalby, Wendland and Company.
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.

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