Lecture by Silmon Laird Smith: Autobiography and early Grand Junction

Description

In a lecture to the Grand Junction Lions Club, given just days before he died, prominent water law attorney Silmon Smith talks about his life and the history of Grand Junction (the lecture was broadcast hours later on KREX radio). He remembers his family’s arrival in the town in the 1890’s and early development in Grand Junction. He recalls a colorful Main Street filled with saloons. He speaks about his father Frank Smith’s respiratory illness, his prominence as a local doctor and fruit grower, his role as a city council member, and his job as County Coroner. He talks about the town’s early water supply from the river. He remembers bear hunting on the Grand Mesa as a teenager. He describes his father’s passion for photography and for photographing rodeo events from dangerously close. Silmon speaks about his own success as a lawyer and his law firm. He details the history of the Grand Junction Lions Club, which he helped to found. 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. *Photograph from the 1908 Colorado College yearbook