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

First Interview with Alfred Flagg
Alfred Flagg discusses his life in early Mesa County as a barber owning his own beauty shop, how the Great Depression affected local businesses, and the social activities in Grand Junction during the 1920’s and 30’s. 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 Alice (Glasco) Johnson
Alice Johnson discusses the pioneering history of her family in Kansas. She then talks about growing tomatoes and working in the greenhouses with her husband on their family farm in Mesa County, about attending Ross Business College, jobs she held subsequent to her education, and her friends and social life. 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 Andrew E. Riddle
Andrew E. Riddle discusses working for the National Guard during a miner’s strike in southern Colorado, the Ludlow Massacre, the horrible mining conditions faced by miners, the joys and woes of cattle ranching and farming, how the Great Depression effected cattle business and personal finances, and purchasing lambs and sheep from the Navajo Indians in New Mexico. 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 Ann (Reese) Stokes
Ann Stokes talks about homesteading on East Orchard Mesa after her family moved to Mesa County, Colorado in 1904. She remembers her father working on the “fancy” masonry for the Grand Junction train station. She recalls living in a one-room log cabin and sharing that cabin with a horse for an evening. She speaks about the development of irrigation on East Orchard Mesa and her father’s peach orchard. She describes walking with her siblings four miles to school in Palisade and confrontations with coyotes on their walk. She talks about the people and businesses of Palisade. She speaks about annual shopping trips to Grand Junction to buy shoes and fabric, and about how her mother made all of the family’s clothes, including coats. She discusses her father’s singing in the Baptist Church of Palisade and her mother’s career as a nurse. She goes into the history of the Stokes Coal Mine and the mining careers of her husband and father-in-law. She talks about going to the movies and the fair, and about the history of the Elberta Theater in Palisade. She describes traveling to Glenwood Springs by train to be married. She talks about dropping out of school to work for the McNeal family, a wealthy couple with a mansion in Cameo. She speaks about picnics, fishing, hunting, and other things the family did for fun. She describes traveling to Denver with her daughter to adopt a baby from the orphanage. She discusses critical illnesses that took the life of her mother and daughter, and typhoid epidemics. She talks about traveling in the days before a bridge big enough to support wagons or cars existed in Palisade. 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 Anna Gertrude (Barker) Foster
Anna Foster describes the history of her family, her life as a school teacher, and the history of the town of Mesa, Colorado. 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 Anna McGinley and Mae (McGinley) Plunkett
Sisters Anna McGinley and Mae (McGinley) Plunkett discuss the pioneering history of their families in Fruita during the late Nineteenth century and 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.
First Interview with Asunta Violeta "Susie" (Lanza) Mendicelli
Susie Mendicelli talks about the life of her Italian-American family in Grand Junction, Colorado, the Mendicelli Bakery, canning and preserving at home, and making sausage and head cheese. She also discusses other Italian-American people and businesses, the history of Grand Junction and the changes she saw in town, and the history of Pitkin Avenue. 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 Carl M. Gesberg
Carl Gesberg discusses life growing up on Orchard Mesa and the history of that area. He talks about dating, camping and other youthful activities, holidays, curing meats, and the region’s development. 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 Catherine (Saxon) Moore
Catherine (Saxon) Moore discusses her early life and education in Mesa County, her nursing experience and training at St. Mary’s Hospital, and her life as a homemaker in survey encampments. 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 Charles "Frank" Moore
Charles Moore discusses his career in the U.S. Grazing Service, ranching, and tension between sheep and cattle ranchers 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.
First Interview with Charles "Frank" and Catherine (Saxon) Moore
Charles and Catherine Moore discuss early days in the Glade Park area of Mesa County, and the murder of Catherine’s grandfather, Charles Sieber. 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 Charles E. "Chuck" Thomas
Chuck Thomas recalls growing up in Cedaredge, where he hunted rabbits from horseback as a kid, and where he learned his future trade as a tightrope walker by walking on top of barbed wire fences on his way to and from Cedaredge High School. He also talks about his high wire act for the Happy Day Rides carnival, doing Houdini’s straight jacket stunt on a Ferris Wheel, being a vaudeville actor and musician in traveling tent shows, and hypnotizing a woman who slept for three days in a store window. 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.

Pages