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.

Pages

Interview with Florence (Eaden) Shambeau
Florence Shambeau describes her life as an orphan in Washington State after her father’s second wife rejected her. She also talks about her skill as a seamstress, her work as a homemaker caring for family and boarders, and her life living around the American West. 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.
Interview with Florence Giles
Florence Giles discusses the early Twentieth century history of Fruita and Loma, Colorado. The interview was conducted by the Mesa County Oral History Project, a collaboration of Mesa County Libraries and the Museums of Western Colorado.
Interview with Floyd Rush Thomas and Marjorie Estellene "Sissy" (Morrow) Thomas
Marjorie Thomas describes her childhood on a homestead in the New Liberty area of Mesa County, Colorado. She talks about the difficulty of getting across the Big Salt Wash near Fruita when it flooded. She discusses Sunday school and religious services that existed in the community for twenty-one years, until the lack of leadership caused people to drive to Loma for church. She speaks about the history of the New Liberty School and about social clubs in New Liberty. She remembers hard times, during the Spanish Flu epidemic and the Depression, when some of her siblings died. She talks about getting electrical and telephone service in New Liberty in the 1930’s. She discusses the history of farm coops in the Lower Valley and farming in New Liberty. In the second interview, they speak more about the history of the New Liberty School and Floyd’s involvement with the school board. They remember fishing and other recreational trips. They speak about the history of Mack and the Uintah Railway. They recall the introduction of radio and television in New Liberty. They speak about farming practices and issues in the area. The interview was conducted by the Mesa County Oral History Project, a collaboration of Mesa County Libraries and the Museums of Western Colorado.
Interview with Forrest "Frosty" Tilton
Frosty Tilton describes his career as a banker in Palisade and Grand Junction, Colorado. He talks about bank closures and runs on banks during the Great Depression, the economic impact of the peach industry, and the history of local fruit grower cooperatives. 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. *Photo courtesy of the Palisade Historical Society
Interview with Frances Felicia (Guerrie) Mendicelli
Frances Felicia Mendicelli describes her immigration to the United States from Italy, settling in Grand Junction, Colorado, her early education in both Italy and Mesa County, and learning English. She also talks about Christmas, food and tradition in her Italian American family, and about her father’s job as a railroad section foreman and life in a railroad family. The interview was conducted by the Mesa County Oral History Project, a collaboration of Mesa County Libraries and the Museums of Western Colorado.
Interview with Frances Grace (Southway) Idler
Frances Idler remembers coming to Loma, Colorado in 1938 as part of a Federal resettlement program during the Dust Bowl. She talks about the school and religious life of her family and the town. She recalls moving into a house owned by the Holly Sugar Company with her second husband and their subsequent move to Fruita, where they began taking in foster children. She speaks about some of the many foster children that she and her husband cared for over the years. The interview was conducted by the Mesa County Oral History Project, a collaboration of Mesa County Libraries and the Museums of Western Colorado.
Interview with Frank C. Hennes
Frank Hennes talks about working as an engineer for the Sunnyside Coal Mine in Carbon County, Utah, and about the social life of mine employees, including dances, the dating scene and boxing and wrestling matches. He also discusses dinosaur tracks found on the roof of a coal mine, the geology of the surrounding area, and fossil trees and plants he found in the upper part of the coal seam. 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.
Interview with Frank Elwood Kreps
Former Grand Junction Fire Chief Frank Kreps describes living in a one-room log cabin on his parents’ Roan Creek homestead as a young boy in the 1910’s, the feeling of community among the scattered residents, and a sawmill that provided lumber to residents. He talks about his father’s career as a locomotive engineer for the Uintah Railway and the Denver & Rio Grande. He remembers having to split wood for all the sick families in Atchee during the Spanish Flu epidemic of 1918-1919, and the great snowfall of 1919 in Mesa County. He speaks about struggling to find work during the Great Depression. He describes his career with the Grand Junction Fire Department, which began in 1935, the growth of the fire department, and the organization of the rural fire district in 1945. He talks about structure fires that the crew battled and the evolution of fire-fighting techniques. He reminisces about the Grand Junction Train Depot munitions fire during World War II, when Fire Chief Charlie Downing lost his arm. Lastly, he speaks about the development of Mesa County’s street labeling system and about his school days at the Highmore School and the Appleton School. The interview was conducted by the Mesa County Oral History Project, a collaboration of Mesa County Libraries and the Museums of Western Colorado.
Interview with Frank G. Mancuso
Frank Mancuso talks about his early life in the Riverside neighborhood of Grand Junction, Colorado after immigrating from Italy, and about Grand Junction’s Italian American community. He also discusses his long-time employment working for the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad, fires to the ice house, D&RG roundhouse and the freight depot, playing baseball under the Fifth Street viaduct, several local people and buildings, and other aspects of area history. 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.
Interview with Frank J. Chiaro
Frank Chiaro describes his life as the child of Italian immigrants, farm life in the Pomona area of Mesa County, Colorado, and his various jobs, including his work as a boilermaker for the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad. He also talks about the second incarnation of his railroading career as a clerk, about mail cars and mail clerks, about the Durham Stockyards and the many livestock trains departing Grand Junction, and about water towers for steam engines. He discusses the Grand Junction train depot fire in 1943, when a train carrying Army munitions exploded and scattered shells in the surrounding neighborhood. Lorene (Tatlow) Roice and Mary (Chiaro) Colosimo, whose husbands both worked for the Denver and Rio Grande, also chime in occasionally. 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.
Interview with Frank Jonick
Frank Jonick describes his experiences as a railroad detective and special agent for the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad. He also details the Grand Junction train depot fire (involving munitions) that occurred during World War II. 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.
Interview with Frank Michael Simonetti Jr.
Frank Simonetti Jr. talks about the arrival of his Italian immigrant parents in Grand Junction, Colorado, about his school days at the Whitman and St. Joseph’s School, and about the history of the downtown area. He speaks about working for the Citizens Finance Company for many years and about Melvin “Pappy” Due, a founding member and longtime president of the company. He describes what it was like to work for a financing and insurance company in the mid-Twentieth century. He talks about Monarch Airlines, the Arctic Ice Cream company, and other Grand Junction people and institutions. 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 1938 Grand Junction High School yearbook.

Pages