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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- William J. "Bill" Callahan, Ralph Creston Bailey, and James Earl Shaw Discuss Early Grand Junction History
- Bill Callahan, Creston Bailey, and James Shaw discuss the history of early Twentieth century Grand Junction. The three men talk about their fathers: Thomas F. Callahan, the owner of Callahan’s Mortuary (now Callahan-Edfast); Dwight B. Bailey, the owner of the D.B. Bailey grocery store; and James Scott Shaw, a rancher, miner, and owner of the Midland Garage. They talk about Main Street businesses, including Sampliner’s. They remember the wagons that used to deliver ice and water. They recall large fires that destroyed the Denver and Rio Grande ice house and other buildings. They speak about changes in cars over time, automobile dealers, and car and airplane races. They remember playing in vacant lots, fights between gangs of boys, smoking “punk”, and swimming. They recall some of the brothels and madams in town, including The Line, a brothel at 5th Street and South Avenue, and Katie Stone’s brothel at 240 Colorado Avenue. They remember dance halls, such as the Mile-Away and the Green Lantern. They recall attending Mesa College in its early days and speak about the YMCA. 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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- Women of Mesa County Past and Present: Women in Politics: A Discussion with Maxine Albers and Jane Quimby
- During the program Women in Politics at the Museum of Western Colorado, Maxine Albers, the first woman to serve as a Mesa County Commissioner, and Jane Quimby, the first woman to serve on Grand Junction’s City Council, talk about their experience as pioneering women in politics, about sexism they faced from some male politicians, and about the local legislative process. 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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- Women of the West Panel Discussion
- In this panel discussion, recorded at the Museums of Western Colorado in June 1977, Tracy Dailey, Sarah Jacobus, and Anne Saunders discuss women in Western 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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- Women's Network Luncheon - June 30, 1982
- A program from the Women's Network Luncheon on June 30, 1982 in Grand Junction, Colorado's Moose Lodge. The luncheon was a program of Grand Junction's Women's Networking, an organization for professional networking among women. Speakers included Evelyn Kyle and Dorothy "Dottie" Lamm (activist, politician, and wife of Governor Richard "Dick" Lamm).