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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First Interview with Asunta Violeta "Susie" (Lanza) Mendicelli
Susie Mendicelli talks about the life of her Italian-American family in Grand Junction, Colorado, the Mendicelli Bakery, canning and preserving at home, and making sausage and head cheese. She also discusses other Italian-American people and businesses, the history of Grand Junction and the changes she saw in town, and the history of Pitkin Avenue. 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.
First Interview with Carl M. Gesberg
Carl Gesberg discusses life growing up on Orchard Mesa and the history of that area. He talks about dating, camping and other youthful activities, holidays, curing meats, and the region’s development. 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.
First Interview with Catherine (Saxon) Moore
Catherine (Saxon) Moore discusses her early life and education in Mesa County, her nursing experience and training at St. Mary’s Hospital, and her life as a homemaker in survey encampments. The interview was conducted by the Mesa County Oral History Project, a collaboration of Mesa County Libraries and the Museums of Western Colorado.
First Interview with Charles "Frank" Moore
Charles Moore discusses his career in the U.S. Grazing Service, ranching, and tension between sheep and cattle ranchers on Colorado's 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.
First Interview with Charles "Frank" and Catherine (Saxon) Moore
Charles and Catherine Moore discuss early days in the Glade Park area of Mesa County, and the murder of Catherine’s grandfather, Charles Sieber. The interview was conducted by the Mesa County Oral History Project, a collaboration of Mesa County Libraries and the Museums of Western Colorado.
First Interview with Charles E. "Chuck" Thomas
Chuck Thomas recalls growing up in Cedaredge, where he hunted rabbits from horseback as a kid, and where he learned his future trade as a tightrope walker by walking on top of barbed wire fences on his way to and from Cedaredge High School. He also talks about his high wire act for the Happy Day Rides carnival, doing Houdini’s straight jacket stunt on a Ferris Wheel, being a vaudeville actor and musician in traveling tent shows, and hypnotizing a woman who slept for three days in a store window. 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.
First Interview with Charles Edward Burg
Charles Burg tells stories from his father about his interactions with the Ute during a US Army deployment near Montrose, Colorado. He talks about settlers and ranchers of the De Beque area, including Dave Knight, a Cherokee from Oklahoma who utilized native plants in a traditional way. He describes a “garter” brand on a horse, horse breaking techniques for wild horses, the origins of the wild horse population in the Bookcliffs, stray cattle gone wild (including the locally famous Old Red and Old Spot), rescuing horses in deep snow during the Winter of 1919, the time he tried to rope a bear, a story from Teddy Roosevelt’s hunting party, area spots like Monument Rock Spring and Soda Spring, brawls and fights, De Beque’s oil shale boom and spurious products made from oil shale, and moonshiners. The interview was conducted by the Mesa County Oral History Project, a collaboration of Mesa County Libraries and the Museums of Western Colorado.
First Interview with Charles H. Buttolph
Charles H. Buttolph discusses the early fruit growing industry in Mesa County, and the challenges it faced. The interview was conducted by the Mesa County Oral History Project, a collaboration of Mesa County Libraries and the Museums of Western Colorado.
First Interview with Charles V. Lundy
Chuck Lundy and interviewer Al Look talk about a Fremont Indian excavation in No Thoroughfare Canyon, about the archaeologist Hannah Marie Wormington and her work at the Turner-Look Site in Utah, and about Native American fossil finds on Glade Park, Colorado. They also speak about Colorado National Monument founder John Otto, about dinosaur fossils discovered by “Dinosaur Jim,” the paleontologist James Jensen, and about dinosaur bones found by Ed Jones of Delta, 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.
First Interview with Chester K. "Chet" Enstrom
Chet Enstrom, producer of the locally famed Enstrom’s Toffee, talks about his life in the candy and ice cream business, his career in the Colorado State Senate, his volunteerism, and his impressions of Grand Junction, Colorado, his longtime home. 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.
First Interview with Craig B. Aupperle
Craig B. Aupperle discusses the history of outlaws, robberies and lawmen on the Western Slope and in the Western United States. The interview was conducted by the Mesa County Oral History Project, a collaboration of the Mesa County Libraries and the Museums of Western Colorado. *Please note that the first half of this audio file suffers from poor quality related to issues with the original recording.
First Interview with David Combs: Social Justice Series
David Combs talks about growing up in a diverse neighborhood in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He discusses school segregation, and the difficulties he and other African-Americans faced in securing a good education at the high school level. He speaks about attending the University of South Dakota on a football scholarship, his experience as a Black person in a place with few other African-Americans, and stereotypes about Black athletes that he encountered from professors and townspeople. He discusses helping bring about positive changes for African-American and Latino students on the Colorado Mesa University campus. He talks about working and living in Rock Springs, Wyoming and Grand Junction, Colorado, and discrimination he has faced in both locations due to his skin color. 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.

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