A KOTO Radio show, called Friday Live, that aired on March 2, 1978, in Telluride, Colorado. Jerry Greene interviews Bill (William) Hamner. At the time of this recording, Bill was 72 years old. He moved to Telluride to retire and purchased the Old Senate Saloon to live in, along with his wife. His wife died of smoking, shortly after the move. Bill speaks of his background (born in Kansas and then moved to Wyoming to live on a cattle ranch with his 8 brothers and sisters) and how he started painting. His daughter, Judy, and son-in-law, Danny lived in Telluride. The north side of Telluride used to be the conservative side, where the residents all went to church and the south side was the side of town that the residents did not attend church. Bill describes the brothels on Pacific Street (Popcorn Alley)and how Telluride was a tough town to live in at the turn of the 20th century (he tells a couple of stories, one of a murder of a child, the murder of a woman, prostitution, and fighting). When Bill first arrived in Telluride, he said the population was only about 400-500 people and most were conservative, church/lodge going, mining families. Finally, Hamner discusses his paintings.
Supported in part by an award from the Colorado Historical Records Advisory Board, through funding from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC), National Archives Records Administration
