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 Shannon Robinson: Social Justice Series
Shannon Robinson talks about becoming involved in student government at then Mesa State College in Grand Junction, Colorado (now Colorado Mesa University), helping to coordinate the campus’s fundraiser in response to Hurricane Katrina, her AIDS activism, and being elected the first minority president of the student body. She discusses racism that she and other African-American students encountered at Mesa State in the early 2000’s and that her children encountered in Mesa County schools. She speaks about working for the Mesa County AIDS Project as interim director, among other roles, and with the Positive Women’s Network. She recounts helping to coordinate social justice protests in Mesa County in the wake of George Floyd’s murder, helping to form Right & Wrong, and about facing armed counter-protesters and white supremacists at events. She talks about the surge in local and national white supremacy movements with the election of Donald Trump, but also about increased political involvement and change in both Grand Junction and in the country that give her hope. The interview was conducted on behalf of the Social Justice Archive in the Mesa County Oral History Project, a collaboration of Mesa County Libraries, the Museums of Western Colorado, and Black Citizens and Friends.
Second Interview with Thatcher Leslie Shaw
Thatcher Shaw, a foot soldier and occupation lawyer during and after World War II, talks about the reaction of people in the United States to the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. He speaks about attitudes towards German and Japanese people at the start of the war. He discusses his experiences as a private and officer during World War II. 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 Velma E. (Borschell) Budin
Velma (Borschell) Budin discusses the history of her family in early Twentieth century Fruitvale. 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 1925 Colorado Agricultural College yearbook.
Second Interview with Vesta (Price) Fitzpatrick
Vesta Fitzpatrick talks about her mother’s skill as a seemstress and how she made the family’s clothes. She remembers family life and entertainment during her youth, her parents reciting poems, and her father’s storytelling abilities. She recalls taking care of the family from a young age after her mother became ill. She speaks about seeing Buffalo Bill’s wild West show in Lincoln Park and going to chautauquas in Collbran. She remembers the De Beque family and dances at the Odd Fellows Hall in the town of De Beque. She talks about the lives of women in Collbran, their pregancies, their chores, and their marriages. She tells about her brother’s work on a Federal land survey near De Beque, early oil exploration that took place in the area, and what people used for fuel for their cooking stoves and heating. She remembers one of the Vulcan Mine disasters in New Castle, when many miners died. 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 Virgil Francis Hickman and Edithe M. (Eakin) Hickman
Early Mesa County resident Virgil Hickman discusses farm life in Palisade and East Orchard Mesa, including irrigation ditches and dams, water rights of farmers and ranchers, hunting deer during the Great Depression, the methods used in keeping peach orchards bug-free, weekly band concerts, making apple butter, and the Palisade Peach Festival. He also talks about building Skyway Road on the Grand Mesa with picks, blasting powder and horses. 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.
Second Interview with Walter Daniel "Bud" Bradbury
Walter Bradbury talks about the history of water resources development in the Kannah Creek area of Mesa County, Colorado. He speaks about the development of ditches between 1881 and 1908. He describes the creation of reservoirs on the Grand Mesa, beginning in 1887, by the Grand Mesa Reservoir Company and others. Reservoirs he discusses include Grand Mesa #1, Grand Mesa #6, Grand Mesa #8, Grand Mesa #9, Anderson #1, Anderson #2, Flowing Park Reservoir, and Purdy Reservoir. He addresses equipment and methods used in ditch and reservoir construction, and the effect of reservoir construction on stream flows. He discusses the City of Grand Junction’s water projects built on Kannah Creek in the 1910’s and their effect on local farmers and ranchers. 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 1936 Grand Junction High School yearbook
Second Interview with Wayne Aspinall
Wayne Aspinall discusses a political career that spanned his election to the Mt. Lincoln School Board near Palisade, Colorado to his last election for the US House of Representatives in 1972. He speaks about campaigning in what was then the Fourth Congressional District in Western Colorado. He talks about his eight-year career as a teacher and school bus driver at the Mt. Lincoln School, taking students camping, dealing with ticks, and coaching girls basketball. 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 Wilbur J. "Bill" Raber
Bill Raber, a longtime rancher, discusses the history of ranching in Delta and Mesa Counties and the relationship between cattle and sheep ranchers. He also talks about the history of Grand Junction and its growth, and about water development and rights disputes on the Grand Mesa. 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 William "Bruce" Howard
William Howard talks about the proper care of cattle, cures for bovine ailments, and birthing calves. He also touches on horse training, planting time, weather predictions, and pigs. 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 Winifred C. Bull
Winifred Bull recalls the childhood of her father, Dr. Herman Bull Sr., and his life as one of the original doctors in Mesa County, Colorado. She talks about the prevalence of Typhoid fever and waterborne illnesses in Grand Junction, known among doctors as “Belly Ache Flats” before the advent of modern water treatment facilities. She discusses her father’s medical practice, his love of horse racing, and how he rode his horses to house calls. She describes local theaters. She talks about her father’s medical practice during the global flu pandemic of 1918, the Grand Junction Pest House, local vaccination efforts, and her father’s jobs as the doctor for the Denver & Rio Grande and the Teller Indian School. She also shares stories of growing up around Mesa County and social activities she enjoyed. 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 Wyatt M. Wood
Wyatt Wood and Al Look discuss their involvement in the construction of Rim Rock Drive on the Colorado National Monument, early scenic photography of Mesa County, early Mesa County bands and parades, and Wood’s time spent working for the Grand Junction Chamber of Commerce. 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 Lecture by Abbott Eastman Fay: Early Spanish influence in Colorado
Professor Abbott Eastman Fay speaks to a meeting of the North Fork Historical Society about the Spanish influence in Colorado and the expedition of Escalante and Dominguez in 1776. This recording is provided 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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