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 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.
Second Interview with Helen Lucile (Young) Johnson
Helen Johnson talks about gardening, methods of preserving food, and other aspects of rural life in Hotchkiss, Colorado in the early Twentieth century. She talks about her mother, Emily (Scatliff) Young, and the jobs she took to support the family after the loss of their life savings due to her father’s bad investment. She discusses the family’s religious observances and the history of churches in Hotchkiss. She talks about her abusive father-in-law and the struggle of life in a broken home. She reminisces about going to South High School in Denver and what she did for fun there. She speaks about waitressing at the Hotchkiss Hotel and at a café owned by Earl Douglas, and about working in the Waunita Hot Springs, where she met her husband. 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 Howard M. Shults and Helen L. (McFarland) Shults
An interview with Howard Shults, a longtime resident of Mesa County who worked as an auctioneer, farmer, and member of the state land commission. He discusses the business of corralling horses, horse trading, racing horses for money, the Cross Ranch, and social events such as rodeos, fairs, and dances. He also talks about hauling coal in a horse-drawn wagon and the history of coal mines in the valley, about the history of the old fairgrounds at Lincoln Park and the development of land surrounding the park, and the history of Cross Orchards.
Second Interview with Hugh R. Jones
Hugh Jones tells stories about poachers that he apprehended as a game warden for the Colorado Department of Wildlife in the mid-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.
Second Interview with James B. "Jim" Franklin
Jim Franklin discusses the pioneer lives of his parents, who came to the Roan Creek, Colorado area from Arkansas in 1887. He also talks about his days as a cowboy, mountain lions, and the history of De Beque. 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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