Eugene Perry talks about his childhood in Grand Junction’s Riverside neighborhood. He speaks about working for the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad from the time he was thirteen years old, his career building track as a section foreman, and the history of D&RG in Grand Junction. He discusses landmarks such as Bowman’s slaughterhouse, the Pest House, and the town’s ice houses. He reminisces about a youth curfew that was in place in Grand Junction when he was a child. He talks about different businesses and business people in Grand Junction’s downtown. He recalls Horsemeat Lewis and Hot Tamale Bob, restauranteurs who used unusual meat in their dishes. He recalls some of the brothels, madams and prostitutes that inhabited the “Barbary Coast” area. He remembers swimming in Connected Lakes and Stevie Pond, an accidental drowning, and floods of the Colorado River that were once common. He talks about early doctors in town, accidents, and infectious diseases. He discusses his education at the Lowell and Bryant Schools, and at the orphanage where he lived for a few years. The interview was conducted by the Mesa County Oral History Project, a collaboration of Mesa County Libraries and the Museums of Western Colorado.
