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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- Interview with Albert Courtney Rood
- Albert Rood describes the life and community involvements of his step-father William Weiser (nephew of William Moyer), his childhood in the Third Fruitridge area and the people who lived there, and stealing watermelons and floating them in the Grand Valley Canal. He also talks about his education at Mesa Junior College, and his work in the field for a Bureau of Entomology laboratory dedicated to eradicating a sugar beet pest. 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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- Interview with Albert Perry Christensen
- Perry Christensen talks about sheep ranching, lambing, sheep health and medical treatment, shearing, and dogs used to herd sheep and protect them from predators. He also speaks about herding sheep in Snowmass. 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 1940 Manti High School (Utah) yearbook.
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- Interview with Albert Phillips Jr.
- Albert Phillips Jr. talks about the life of his father, a founder of the United Fruit Growers Association, and about his own career working for the cooperative. He discusses the history of the UFGA and other area fruit growers’ cooperatives, and about the history of fruit growing in Palisade, Colorado. He speaks about migrant workers and German prisoners of war used to harvest fruit during the Depression, and about changes in fruit production, packing and shipment over time. He names peach varieties grown in Palisade over the years. He talks about the stress that development associated with the oil shale boom of the late 1970’s and early 1980’s put on fruit growing land. 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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- Interview with Alexander Lee Guerrie
- Alexander Guerrie talks about the life of his father Philip Guerrie, an Italian immigrant, pioneer and railroad worker in early Western Colorado. He also discusses his own railroad career and his immigrant family life. 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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- Interview with Alexander R. "Alex" Bauer
- Alex Bauer talks extensively about this history of his family, part of the German community of Morganthau in Russia. He recounts their immigration to the United States in the years before the Russian Revolution. He remembers his dad’s career as a machinist for Missouri Pacific Railroad and then the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad. He also recounts his own career as a machinist. He speaks about his parrallel career as the shop steward International Association of Machinists, his job as Service Representative, and then as Administrative Assistant to the International President of the union. 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.
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- Interview with Alfred W. Bigum
- Alfred W. Bigum talks about his career as a lumberyard manager, and about the history of lumberyards in Montrose and Grand Junction, Colorado. He also discusses his experience as an amateur architect. 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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- Interview with Alfreida (Elkins) Stevenson
- Alfreida Stevenson talks about her father’s career as a contractor who built several homes and a church in the Grand Valley, and about her childhood and early adulthood in Grand Junction, Colorado from 1900 to 1919. 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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- Interview with Alice Elizabeth (Lewis) Olsen
- Alice Olsen discusses her training as a nurse at St. Mary’s Hospital in Grand Junction, Colorado, her subsequent career at the Glenwood Hospital in Glenwood Springs, and early doctors in the area. She also talks about her childhood in Palisade and about her family’s activities and traditions. 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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- Interview with Alice May (Gooding) Clinton
- Alice Clinton recalls her life on a fruit farm and in her husband’s insurance business in Palisade, Colorado during the early Twentieth century. 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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- Interview with Allen Wayne "Al" Brink
- Allen Brink, a United States Marine who was one of the early volunteers to go to Vietnam, talks about his experiences in the Vietnam War from 1965 to 1968. He expresses his disillusionment with the war, its purpose, and its methods. He speaks about his life after returning to the United States, his identification with veterans who protested the war (though he himself was not a protester), and his disagreement with protestors in the general public. 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 1962 Abraham Lincoln High School yearbook
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- Interview with Allie Edith (Burns) Strain
- Edith Strain talks about her childhood in Iowa and about coming to Clifton, Colorado with her family to farm in 1909. She recounts Clifton’s agricultural past and the history of its town center, especially in regard to schools, churches, and businesses. She speaks about her husband Robert Strain and his work as a farmer, mechanic, and service station owner. She remembers owning a restaurant next door to his service station in Clifton. She talks about her role as an early member of the Crossroads United Methodist Church (then the Methodist Episcopal Church of Clifton). She discusses her community involvements and those of her husband, including the Clifton Lions Club, Clifton Volunteer Fire Department, and Rebekah Lodge. 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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- Interview with Anna (Garcia) Gallegos
- Anna Gallegos talks about early her life growing up in Saguache as part of Southern Colorado’s longstanding Mexican American community. She also discusses her marriage with Andy Gallegos, his jobs as coal miner, sheep sheerer and horse breaker, the large family that she raised, and their lives in Gunnison and Paonia. 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.