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 James Leslie "Les" Kittle
- Les Kittle talks about growing up in Greeley, Colorado, where he worked in his father’s grocery store. He discusses his life as a musician, beginning as a child in Greeley, where he played in theaters and in bands. He speaks about his teaching career at Adams State College and the Colorado Women’s College.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 James Wilcoxon "J.W." Latham
- J.W. Latham describes his career of the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad near Grand Junction, Colorado, including the run from Grand Junction to Minturn, his work as fireman, and different steam engines used. He also talks about the pack of grey wolves that lived in the Bookcliffs near De Beque in the early 1920’s, and touches on the sheep and cattlemen wars. 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 of James W. Latham courtesy of the Eagle Valley Library District and the Eagle County Historical Society.
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- Interview with Janielle (Butler) Westermire: Social Justice Series
- Janielle Westermire talks about growing up in Grand Junction, Colorado, where her father ministered at the Handy Chapel. She speaks about feeling she lived in a safe, close knit community, but also about racism she experienced as a child. She describes the inspiring life of her father, Harry Butler, who worked in hydrology with the Bureau of Reclamation before becoming the first African-American school board member in Mesa County and the first African-American city councilperson in Grand Junction. She talks about her career as a deputy in the Mesa County Sheriff’s Office, working in the Mesa County Detention Facility, and her successful, humanistic approach to working with people of all colors and backgrounds. She speaks about the departmental approach to policing in the jail, the role that race plays in that policing, and about an incident of racial abuse she received from a white inmate. She discusses her reaction to the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police in 2020 and her views of the Black Lives Matter movement from the perspective of a Black woman and a police officer. She talks about the need for dialogue, love, and understanding among all parties and races, and reads poetry that speaks to her experiences. The interview was conducted on behalf of the Social Justice Archive in the Mesa County Oral History Project, a collaboration of Mesa County Libraries, Professor Sarah Swedberg, and Black Citizens and Friends.
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- Interview with Jean and Benerita Urruty
- Jean and Benerita Dolores (Velazquez) Urruty discuss Jean’s immigrant experience, the life of a Basque sheepherder, Basque culture, and sheepherding in Mesa County. 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 Jeanette LeBeau
- Jeanette LeBeau, an early Mesa County resident, talks about climbing Independence Monument with bare feet, Ute Indians who visited her grandparents in pioneer Fruita, summers spent at Leach’s cattle ranch in Pinon Mesa, means of transportation, law enforcement, and prejudice against Catholics in the Grand Valley. 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 Jene Ellis Hicks
- Jene Hicks tells the story of his father’s work as a barber and coal miner, and his mother’s work as a school teacher in early Twentieth century Mesa County, Colorado. He also gives a history of the Cameo Mine and other coal mines in the Bookcliffs. 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 Jennie Elizabeth (Jones) Dixon
- Jennie Dixon describes her early life and family history, including interactions with Native Americans and her parents’ lives before living in Mesa County, Colorado. She discusses working as a professional printer for newspapers, and her short stint working at the Fair Store as a “floorwalker,” where she would shop undercover to catch shoplifters. Jennie also provides information on restaurants around Main Street in Grand Junction, local artist Harold Bryant, philanthropist William J. Moyer and author Dalton Trumbo, and her involvement in the St. Matthew's Episcopal Church. 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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- Interview with Jessie B. (Cody Johnson) Brisbin
- Jessie Brisbin talks about her early life in Kansas, living in a sod house, working on the farm, attending school, dancing, and making clothes from flour sacks. She speaks about country life and community there. She describes her marriage at the age of eighteen, moving to Nebraska in 1907, and moving again to Colorado by covered wagon in 1913. She recalls her life in Collbran and her husband’s job in a coal mine. She remembers living on various small farms around the Grand Valley. She talks about the first time she saw an automobile. 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 Joe Peep
- This interview features Joe Peep, an early Fruita farmer, homesteader, and horse enthusiast. He also worked as a cowboy on Albert Turner’s ranch, and won the horse riding competition at Fruita’s Cowpuncher’s Reunion. 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 Joe and Mike Peep, and Ida (Bourg) Peep
- Joe, Mike and Ida Peep discuss their family’s Italian heritage, the history of their pioneer family in Fruita, and life as young people in Western Colorado. 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 Joel Eugene Brewster and Jennie Ellen (Menter) Brewster
- Joel and Jennie Brewster talk about farming and raising thousands of turkeys in Mack, Colorado, and Jennie describes how she used to take the turkeys for a walk. They also talk about life in Mack. 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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- Interview with John Bible "J.B." Wooten Jr.
- J.B. Wooten, a longtime teacher in Grand Junction, Colorado, talks about aspects of life in the Civilian Conservation Corps in Mesa County in the 1930’s. Wooten, who began working for the CCC as a Lead Man in 1932, describes both the regular CCC camp and the transient-labor CCC camp that existed on the Colorado National Monument during that time. He speaks about working conditions, hazards, accidents, and fatalities in work that CCC members conducted He reflects on projects that they conducted, including the construction of the Coke Ovens Trail on the Monument. He remembers his work as a Camp Steward, helping to keep CCC men out of jail for drunkenness, diffusing tensions between local CCC men and those from elsewhere, and being a camp leader. He describes the purpose of the CCC as a source of income for the men and their families during the Great Depression, as a job training program, and as a producer of public projects. He talks about Thomas Secrest, the head engineer on the project, about winters on the Monument, and food served in the camps. The interview was conducted by the Mesa County Oral History Project, a collaboration of Mesa County Libraries and the Museums of Western Colorado.