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 Asunta Violeta "Susie" (Lanza) Mendicelli
Early Mesa County resident Asunta Violeta “Susie” Mendicelli remembers her time spent in Atchee, Colorado, Italian American life in Grand Junction, and taking the train and riding bicycles into Grand Junction, Colorado. She also discusses life in Italy, the process of making sausages and capocollo, relationships between immigrants in Mesa County, the usage of midwives during childbirth, and riding the Interurban Line between Grand Junction and Fruita. 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 Carl M. Gesberg
Carl Gesberg talks about his experience farming with horses as opposed to machine-based farming. He explains the day in the life of a farmer, caring for his horses, the pesticides and sprays used on crops for pest reduction, including the coddling moth, and the cost of equipment. 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 Charles "Frank" Moore
Charles “Frank” Moore discusses his career as a cowboy in Mesa County, Colorado and Eastern Utah. 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 Charles H. Buttolph
C.H. Buttolph describes his time working in Cross Orchards and the process of caring for a large orchard of pear trees. C.H. also describes his journey from Michigan to Colorado, and the frustration felt by fruit growers trying to exterminate the codling moth. 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 Craig B. Aupperle
Craig B. Aupperle discusses the early Twentieth century history of 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 David Combs: Social Justice Series
David Combs talks about the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis Police, the ethnic makeup of Minneapolis (where Mr. Combs grew up), and the history of policing and police brutality there. He discusses the worldwide movement for social justice that grew from protests against Floyd’s killing, the response to Floyd’s killing in Grand Junction, Colorado, and the protest movement that took shape here. He addresses differences within the local African-American community in their activist approaches to local bias and racism. He talks about his family and prejudice that they have faced in Grand Junction and elsewhere. He speaks about the creation of the Black Citizens and Friends organization out of a need to teach African-American children and locals about Black History and culture, the group’s founding of an annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration and the growth of that event, and the group’s other community involvements. He talks about Mesa County’s public officials and their differing attitudes and approaches to issues of race. The interview was conducted on behalf of the Social Justice Archive in the Mesa County Oral History Project, a collaboration of Mesa County Libraries and Black Citizens and Friends.
Second Interview with David Sundal
David Sundal discusses in great detail the life of famous author Dalton Trumbo of Grand Junction, Colorado, based in large part on Sundal’s conversations with the author. Sundal describes the local community’s relationships with Trumbo, reactions to Trumbo’s book Eclipse, portrayals of prominent businessman William Moyer and Daily Sentinel editor Walter Walker in the book, and Trumbo’s life and career after leaving Mesa County. He talks about Trumbo’s play The Biggest Thief in Town, and the possible lampooning of Martin Mortuary in the play. He speaks about Trumbo’s leftist politics, his testimony before the US House Un-American Activities Committee, his time in prison, and his time as a blacklisted writer in Hollywood. Sundal also shares information about successful individuals who grew up in or passed through Mesa County during Trumbo’s youth. 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 Dorothy (Raber) Beard
Dorothy Beard discusses her career as a pharmacist (following the family trade), and talks about sheep ranching with her husband. 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 the 1932 University of Colorado yearbook
Second Interview with Dorsey "Sonny" G. Son
Dorsey G. Son discusses his career as a surveyor for the Colorado State Highway Commission operating in Southwestern Colorado. 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 Dr. Everett H. Munro
Early Grand Junction surgeon Dr. Everett H. Munro describes his memories and experiences with early Mesa County doctors, and with members of the Mesa County Medical Society.
Second Interview with Dudley W. Mitchell
Dudley W. Mitchell discusses his family history, early Colorado mining days, and his various jobs working for the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad over fifty years. 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 Earl Keen Laycock
Earl Laycock talks about working in the Laycock Motor Company in Delta and Grand Junction, Colorado from 1918 to 1970. He remembers the Great Depression, bank failures, World War II, and the effect on automobile sales. He recalls the various makes and models of cars that Laycock Motors sold over the years. He talks about his birth in a log cabin in Ohio, on the Kentucky border, in 1895. He remembers his family and other tobacco farmers that organized an association, struck, refused to grow more tobacco plants, and who actively destroyed the crops of non-strikers in order to combat the monopolistic practices of large growers (presumably an extension of the Black Patch Tobacco Wars, 1904-1909). He remembers going to high school in Texas and working as a cow hand before joining his brother Austin Laycock in the automobile business in Delta, Colorado. He speaks about his achievements in auto sales, about repossessing cars, the popularity of cars in the 1950’s, and auto loan financing. 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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