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 Margaret (Irvine) Snook
Margaret Snook describes the voyage to the United States from her native Scotland in 1910, and life in the Van Houten mining camp near Raton, Colorado. She and her daughter Ida May (Snook) Waggoner talk about William T. and Clara P. Snook, and their establishment of a homestead in what became known as Snooks Bottom. Margaret Snook discusses life in Craig and Axel, Colorado, where she and her husband Guy Snook worked supplying homesteaders with various goods. She also talks about moving to many other locations on Colorado’s Western Slope. The interview was conducted by the Mesa County Oral History Project, a collaboration of Mesa County Libraries and the Museums of Western Colorado. *Part Two of the interview includes only the first 30 minutes of the audio recording. The last 30 minutes of the original audio cassette recording are inaudible.
Interview with Margaret (Purcell) Golden
Margaret Golden discusses her school days in Grand Junction, Colorado and her life as a homemaker. She also talks about old theaters and entertainments and touches on other facets of town 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.
Interview with Margaret Angeline (Hargis) Stump
Margaret Stump talks about her childhood on a fruit farm in Fruitvale, Colorado, growing up without electricity or plumbing. She also discusses her lifelong involvement in local churches, and her education at the Ross Business College and subsequent job as a bookkeeper. 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 Marguerite Elizabeth (Miller) Beede
Marguerite Beede talks about moving with her husband and children to Loma, Colorado as part of a resettlement program during the Dust Bowl. She reminisces about teaching at the Loma School for over 20 years. She describes the establishment of the Loma Community Hall and its vital place in the community. She remembers some of the town’s locals. 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 Marian "Mary" (Tananbaum) Gordon and Gilbert Gordon
Gilbert Gordon talks about growing up in Trinidad, Colorado in the early Twentieth century and at length about the different ethnicities present in Trinidad at that time, with an emphasis on the Jewish population. He discusses some of the activities of the Ku Klux Klan around 1923, and how prejudice from the organization affected him. He also talks about operating Gordon department stores, a family owned chain. Both Gilbert and Mary go into life and religious services in the Grand Valley’s Jewish community. 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 Marie (Geir) Spomer
Marie Spomer describes her younger years living in a German settlement in Russia, including homemaking tasks and funeral ceremonies. Marie also recalls what it was like moving to America, the jobs she took on after leaving school, meeting her husband, and moving to Mesa County to work on a sugar beet farm. 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 Marie (Pate) Edwards Marshall
Marie Edwards talks about her work as a civilian employee at Camp Hale, Colorado, headquarters of the U.S. Army’s 10th Mountain Division, during World War II. She describes life at the camp, ski training for soldiers, and post-war reunions on Tennessee Pass of soldiers and others who spent time there. 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 Marie Ellen (Corn) Tipping
Marie Tipping talks about the history of her family in Mesa County, Colorado and on the Western Slope. She speaks about her grandfather Thad Duckett, a miner, an early rancher on Pinon Mesa, and the operator of the Duckett Burgman Sawmill on East Creek in the 1880’s. She describes the Duckett Burgman Sawmill company. She gives the history of George Corn, a rancher and foreman on the S-Cross Ranch, and of the Corn family. 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 1962 Grand Junction High School yearbook
Interview with Marie and Thomas Roland "Tom" Biglin
Tom and Marie Biglin talk about their lives in the Nucla, Colorado area, about his career in ranching, and about her career as the office manager for the Nucla Regional Office of the Rural Electrification Administration. They also touch on his service as an ambulance driver during World War I, the development of irrigation in Nucla, and other tidbits of local history. 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 Marion Julian Echternach
In a letter read aloud to his niece, Marion Echternach talks about the history of his immigrant family in the United States, including their settlement in Oklahoma in 1880. He speaks about his boyhood in Peckham, Oklahoma. He discusses the “land boom” in Palisade, Colorado at the beginning of the Twentieth century and his family’s role in settling the area. He remembers visiting his brother Bill, an employee at the Liberty Bell Mine near Telluride. He details the fire that destroyed the Echternach family’s home in Oklahoma prior to their move to Palisade. He remembers his brother Merle’s term as Palisade’s mayor and his role in driving the Fergusons and other bootleggers out of town. He talks about the difficulty the family had in irrigating their orchards after the Colorado River flooded and knocked down the dam in Palisade in 1909. He speaks about horse raising in Collbran and his love, in general, of horses. He discusses helping on the family farm, helping to form the United Fruit Growers Association in response to unfair profits for growers, farming during the Depression, and the Japanese internees and German prisoners of war that picked for the farm. He talks about working around the West as an electrician for arms manufacturers during World War II and in nuclear missile silos after the war. He speaks about the lives of his brothers and his children. 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 Marjorie Elaine (West) Crow
Marjorie Crow talks about her education in the Palisade School and Palisade High School in the 1920’s and 30’s. She speaks about what she did at home for recreation, and about her mother’s piano tutoring business. She describes Christmas programs, and band and chorus activities. She discusses her higher education at Grand Junction Junior College and the University of Colorado. She talks about her life teaching elementary grades in Delta, at the Palisade School, and at Taylor Elementary School, a career spanning several decades. The interview was conducted by the Mesa County Oral History Project, a collaboration of Mesa County Libraries and the Museums of Western Colorado. *Photograph of Marjorie West from the 1939 Grand Junction High School yearbook.
Interview with Marshall "Mike" Revelle Douglass
Marshall “Mike” Revelle Douglass discusses the Civilian Conservation Corps camps on the Colorado National Monument, and his role as the commanding officer there. 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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