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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- True Epics of Western Colorado radio plays: Episodes 33-36
- Four radio programs written by Wilson Rockwell, based in part on short histories he wrote for his book Sunset Slope, and broadcast in the Grand Junction area on KREX in the late 1950’s or early 1960’s. The programs include: Episode 33 – Ute Indian Scares (0:00), Episode 34 – The North Fork Hermits (14:40), Episode 35 – The North Fork Hermits II (29:46), Episode 36 – Escalante’s Journey (43:23). These broadcasts are 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.
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- True Epics of Western Colorado radio plays: Episodes 5-8
- Four radio plays written by Wilson Rockwell, based in part on short histories he wrote for his book Sunset Slope, and broadcast in the Grand Junction area on KREX during the late 1950’s or early 1960’s. The programs include: Episode 5 – The McCarty’s Last Holdup (0:00), Episode 6 – The Stockton-Eskridge Gang of Durango (12:52), Episode 7 – The Betrayal (27:36) (the story of Isaac “Ike” Stockton’s death), Episode 8 – The Grand Mesa Feud (39:32). These broadcasts are 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.
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- True Epics of Western Colorado radio plays: Episodes 9-12
- Four radio programs written by Wilson Rockwell, based in part on short histories he wrote for his book Sunset Slope, and broadcast in the Grand Junction area on KREX in the late 1950’s or early 1960’s. The programs include: Episode 9 – The Maneater (0:00), Episode 10 – The Maneater (14:00), Episode 11 – The Hog Pen Murder (29:16), Episode 12 – The Manhunt (42:43). These broadcasts are 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.
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- Twelfth Interview with Al Look
- Al Look talks about his career as a journalist and advertising manager for the Durango Herald, Grand Junction News, and the Daily Sentinel. He also talks about the shooting of Durango Herald editor William Wood by Durango Democrat editor Rod Day, and about homesteading in the Dove Creek area. He speaks about the film For Love of a Navajo, filmed in Farmington in 1922, and about his role as a lead in the movie. 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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- Twelfth Lecture by Al Look: Paleontology and dinosaur fossils in Delta County and the Western Slope
- Amateur paleontologist Al Look speaks about dinosaur fossil discoveries in Delta County and on the Western Slope in a lecture for the Surface Creek Historical Society in Cedaredge, Colorado. 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.
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- Twentieth Interview with Al Look
- Al Look talks about the use of radiocarbon dating during Hannah Marie Wormington’s excavation of the Turner-Look Site, a Fremont Indian cultural site in Grand County, Utah. He discusses minstrel shows and his involvement in them in his younger days. He also speaks about aspects of Colorado Western Slope history. 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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- Twenty-eighth Interview with Al Look: Turner-Look Site
- With Judy Anne Prosser-Armstrong and Dave Fishell, Al Look visits the Turner-Look Site in the Bookcliffs of Grand County, Utah. Look details the site’s discovery by rancher Al Turner, its exploration by Al Look and his son Al Look Jr., and excavation by archaeologist Hannah Marie Wormington of the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. Look discusses the vandalism that has occurred at the site, the theft of artifacts, and steps the Federal Government has taken to deter such thefts at the sites of other digs. 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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- Twenty-fifth Interview with Al Look: Life of George Crawford
- Al Look talks about the life of Grand Junction founder George Crawford. He speaks about Crawford’s youth in Pennsylvania, his career as a newspaperman, a politician, a town founder, and a business person. He discusses Crawford’s stance as an abolitionist and as part of the antislavery movement in Kansas prior to the Civil War. He describes Crawford’s founding of Ft. Scott and Emporia, Kansas, and of Grand Junction, Colorado. The interview was conducted by the Mesa County Oral History Project, a collaboration of Mesa County Libraries and the Museums of Western Colorado. *Public domain photograph.
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- Twenty-first Interview with Al Look
- Al Look talks about elements of Grand Junction, Colorado history and about local dinosaur finds. He also discusses newspaper printing presses in use at the Daily Sentinel and Durango Herald, and newspaper advertising. 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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- Twenty-fourth Interview with Al Look
- Al Look talks about geologic formations in De Beque Canyon and about the first aerial photographs taken of the Grand Mesa. Margaret (Langen) Look speaks about air travel to Boulder, Colorado in the 1920’s. Al Look speaks about the publication of his book, Hopi Snake Dance, and about the return of his son from World War II. He describes his work with different people on archaeological and paleontological digs, and touches on the vandalism of certain sites. He talks about his community involvement in the Grand Junction Lions and other organizations, and about the 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.
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- Twenty-second Interview with Al Look
- Al Look talks about singing in a quartet, publishing books on Mesa County history, and fishing. He also discusses various people and places of the Western Slope. The interview was conducted by the Mesa County Oral History Project, A collaboration of Mesa County Libraries and the Museums of Western Colorado.