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 Sara Kruh
Sara Kruh talks about growing up near Collbran and in Grand Junction, Colorado, and about her schooling. She also discusses teaching in the Molina School on the Grand Mesa and her teaching career, her role in the origins of the Mesa County Teachers Federal Credit Union, and high button shoes. 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 Sarah E. (Milliken) Gowen
Sarah E. Gowen talks about her longtime residence at 14th and Main Streets in Grand Junction, Colorado, and about the history of local businesses, buildings and people. 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. *Photograph from 1923 Grand Junction High School yearbook.
Interview with Sarah Jane (Holt) Livesay
Sarah Jane Livesay, who was born during the Civil War, talks about growing up in frontier towns in Kansas, about her father’s hickory nut orchards, and encounters with American Indians. She also describes her train journey to Delta, Colorado in 1897, the stage coach ride to Hotchkiss, and their life as pioneers in the North Fork area of Delta County. This recording is made available via signed release by the Mesa County Oral History Project, a collaboration of Mesa County Libraries, the Museums of Western Colorado and the Mesa County Historical Society. The original recording appears to have been made on a vinyl record in 1946, and transferred to audiocassette in 1980.
Interview with Sarah Margueritte "Bobbie" (Alley) Wood
Sarah Wood talks about coming to Loma, Colorado with her husband and children in 1961. She reminisces about her time working as a programming director for the nursing home at the Lower Valley Hospital, from 1966 to 1973. 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 Sarah Myrtle (Bissell) Monnahan
Sarah Monnahan describes the instability of her young life, with her father leaving the family when she was two, being left to live with grandparents, great-grandparents and strangers in several different towns and states during her mother’s three marriages, and a house fire that singed her hair and clothes before destroying all of her belongings. She finally found something like a normal life when she was sent to live with her grandmother and uncle on a proved-up homestead near Craig, Colorado. Monnahan talks about life on the ranch, working as a married homemaker and construction crew cook, and her eventual career working as a nurse at the then Memorial General Hospital in Grand Junction, Colorado (now Community Hospital). 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 Stephen Barnwell "Steve" Johnson
Stephen Johnson talks about his education and background as a horticulturalist, and opening Johnson’s House of Flowers in Montrose, Colorado in 1919. He speaks about moving to Grand Junction, where he opened a florist business of the same name in 1937. He describes his love of practical jokes, shopping with his sons for school clothes on Main Street, and the different businesses there. He talks about his son Bob Johnson, his friendship with Al Look Jr. and Bill Ela, how they trapped two monkeys who had gotten away from their owners, and came to care for the monkeys. He and interview Al Look describe the Lincoln Park Zoo. He recalls a “pet” elk named Solomon in Ouray and a crocodile or alligator that was kept at the Ouray Hot Springs. 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 Sterling Price Bittle, Velda Lorraine (Kelly) Bittle, and Marie (Dunston) Bittle
Sterling, Velda and Marie Bittle talk about their lives in Loma, Colorado and the surrounding area. Marie talks about coming to Loma from Kansas when her parents homestead in eastern Utah in 1923, and about running a dairy farm in the 1940’s and 50’s. Price Bittle talks about coming to Loma in 1920 with his parents, helping them farm north of town, working as a ranch foreman in Kannah Creek for E.H. Munro, and working for the Elizondo sheep ranching outfit. Velda Bittle speaks about her involvement with the Loma Presbyterian Church and the history of the church. They speak about people getting their drinking water from the Highline Canal, cutting ice from the Colorado River, and washing clothes on a board before gas and electric washing machines. 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 Steven Lyle "Steve" Heller
Steve Heller talks about his work in the Command Intelligence Center in Vietnam as the Intelligence Editor working on intelligence reports, and as the chief award writer, composing recommendations for different commendations. He describes writing intelligence reports for Henry Kissinger about the North Vietnamese. He speaks about his relationships with the South Vietnamese who worked with him, and about being stationed in Vietnam as US involvement in the war wound down. He talks about his disillusionment with the war, his dislike of peace activists and conscientious objectors, his ultimate opposition to war that was born out of his service, and the coverage of the war by the American media. He discusses the slowness of the Military postal service and the difficulty of communicating with this wife through the mail. 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 Thelma G. (Kettle) Moore
Thelma Moore talks about her youth on a fruit farm in Pear Park, life in early Grand Junction, her involvement in 4-H clubs, the Locust Ranch fruit growing operation in Clifton, and the other members of the Kettle family to settle in that area. She discusses her career as a seamstress and work making drapes, county extension work with quilters, craft competitions at the Mesa County Fair, and chautauquas and variety shows. She also goes into her life as a homemaker and various homemaking tasks, including: soap making, butter making, and butchering. 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 Theodore Charles Simineo
Theodore Simineo talks about the history of violence between sheep and cattle ranchers near Whitewater, Colorado. He remembers helping to drive cattle over the Grand Mesa at the age of six, other aspects of cattle drives, and his life as a cowboy. He describes community dances that took place in Kannah Creek schools or community halls. He speaks about the transportation of cattle by rail from Gunnison and Whitewater. He talks about working as a coal miner in the Starr Mine, being hurt in a mining accident, and the omnipresence of coal dust in the homes of coal miners. He recalls the history of several coal mines, including the Baldwin, Floresta, Smith Hill, Pershing, Rock Springs, and Crested Butte Mines. 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 Thomas "Tom" Williams and Helen (Andros) Williams
Thomas and Helen Williams, he a Greek immigrant and she the daughter of Greek immigrants, discuss early life in Grand Junction, immigrant life, owning a grocery store, financial hardships due to the Great Depression, and selling ice cream during the summers from a small horse-drawn wagon.
Interview with Thomas C. "Tom" Charles and Emma (Berg) Nagel
Tom Charles talks about moving to the Fruitvale area of Mesa County, Colorado in 1907, his family’s fruit orchards, and the history of fruit growing in the Grand Valley. Emma (Berg) Nagel describes her family’s homestead in the Highpoint area north of Fruita in 1894. She speaks about living in a dugout for three years, clearing the land for cultivation, and the family’s fruit orchard. Charles and Nagel both discuss the various crops grown around the valley, such as cantaloupes, strawberries, and sugar beets. They touch on care for orchards, the codling moth’s destruction of the local apple industry, and agricultural laborers. 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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