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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Second Interview with Edwin "Ted" Winterburn
Edwin “Ted” Winterburn talks about the many Grand Junction, Colorado buildings built by his father, Samuel E. Winterburn, including the Majestic Theater (now the Mesa Theater). He discusses growing up in Grand Junction and working as an electrician and car mechanic. He speaks about moving around the country a great deal and working various electrician jobs at the start of World War ll, then returning to the Grand Valley area to retire in the 1970’s. The interview was conducted by the Mesa County Oral History Project, a collaboration of Mesa County Libraries and the Museums of Western Colorado.
Second Interview with Ella (Foster) O'Brien and Earl Eugene Foster
Siblings Ella O'Brien and Earl Foster talk about the demise of their family friend Henry "Indian Henry" Huff at the hands of their stepfather, and the events that followed. They discuss their living situation in Bull Canyon, mentioning the work their parents did for the mine, their chores, education, livestock, and farming. They speak of their move to Utah and their experiences there, including meeting Chipeta. They transition to talking about their marriages and families, continued education, careers, properties, and the events that led them to Grand Junction. The interview was conducted by the Mesa County Oral History Project, a collaboration of Mesa County Libraries and the Museums of Western Colorado.
Second Interview with Emma (Berg) Nagel
Emma Nagel, whose family came to the Highpoint area north of Fruita in 1894, talks about agricultural life on her family’s homestead, about badgers, wolves, and wildlife they encountered, and about the Highpoint community’s Christmas celebrations. The interview was conducted by the Mesa County Oral History Project, a collaboration of Mesa County Libraries and the Museums of Western Colorado.
Second Interview with Forrest M. Carhartt
Forrest M. Carhartt describes his deployment to the Mexican border with the Utah National Guard after Pancho Villa’s raids, his military training, and service during World War I. He discusses his education at the University of Denver. He also talks about his membership in the Last Squad, an American Legion-affiliated group of World War I veterans. 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 1922 University of Denver yearbook
Second Interview with Frank Benjamin Wright
Frank Wright talks about his career as a coal boy, firemen, and engineer for the railroad. He also discusses the history of narrow gauge and standard lines in Western Colorado, a railroad strike in which his father was involved, and dealing with snow slides along the tracks. 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.
Second Interview with Fritz Becker
Fritz Becker recounts the immigrant experience of his father Peter Becker, a German-American who worked as a miner, brewer, and fruit farmer. He also talks about the winter that the bank robber “Pretty Boy” Floyd allegedly spent in Delta and Grand Junction, 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.
Second Interview with George "Vern" Wood and Bernice (Daniels) Wood
Vern Wood discusses his life as an early Mesa County resident, homesteader in Pinon Mesa, and cattle rancher on Glade Park. Wood and his wife Bernice also discuss the building of the Serpent’s Trail on the Colorado National Monument, life at local schools, country dances on Glade Park, transportation methods, and murder scandals that occurred around Glade Park. 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.
Second Interview with Gertrude D. (Geiger) Rader
Gertrude Rader talks at length about the Tabequache band of the Ute and her frequent contact with them when they camped in Kannah Creek during their annual return migration from the mountains of Colorado to the Uintah Reservation in Utah in the early Twentieth century. She discusses her memories of Chipeta and describes Ute customs she observed. She talks about her pioneering grandfather, and about a serious sheep and cattleman conflict that occurred in the Whitewater area in 1906-7. Finally, she describes her career as a teacher, the reliance of rural schools on taxes provided by the railroad, and the role as a community center that rural schools played. The interview was conducted by the Mesa County Oral History Project, a collaboration of Mesa County Libraries and the Museums of Western Colorado.
Second Interview with Glenn W. McFall
Glenn McFall talks about his various jobs around Mesa County and about witnessing the unveiling of Christo’s Valley Curtain installation in Rifle Gap. He also discusses fishing and battling snow storms on the Grand Mesa, the deer population around Mesa County, his experiences during childhood growing up in Clifton, the old Midland Trail automobile route, drinking and making bootleg whiskey, Italian-Americans making bootleg wine, the Book Cliff Railway, and an outhouse with an electrified seat that burnt down. The interview was conducted by the Mesa County Oral History Project, a collaboration of Mesa County Libraries and the Museums of Western Colorado.
Second Interview with Harry Sylvester Godby
Harry Godby describes working as a crane and heavy equipment operator for Corn Construction and others at sites throughout Western Colorado and Eastern Utah, including the Uranium mill in Grand Junction, Colorado and oil shale mines along Parachute Creek. He also talks more specifically about working as a pile driver and pile driving technique. He discusses working in a woolen mill for ten hours a day after running away from home at fourteen, his long career working in oil wells, and various other jobs he held. The interview was conducted by the Mesa County Oral History Project, a collaboration of Mesa County Libraries and the Museums of Western Colorado.
Second Interview with Harvey Ball and Reba E. (Lester) Ball
Harvey Ball talks about attending Grand Junction Junior College (now Colorado Mesa University) during its first year of existence, about the early teachers at the school, and the school’s creation. He remembers his employment as a manager of Piggly Wiggly and Safeway grocery stores in Grand Junction and Western Colorado from 1925 to 1971. He speaks about the local truck farms, agricultural associations, and dairies that supplied grocery stores. He recalls the history of other grocery stores in town, such as Hill and Son and City Market. The interview was conducted by the Mesa County Oral History Project, a collaboration of Mesa County Libraries and the Museums of Western Colorado.
Second Interview with Helen (Maher) Bowman and Marion Bowman
Helen and Marion Bowman describe the early days of Mesa County: including school life and the rivalry between Grand Junction and Fruita High Schools, the social scene, and the D&RG Railroad. 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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