Lafayette Archival Oral History Collection 1968-2001
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Oral History with Boughton and Leona Noble
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In this oral history interview, Boughton and Leona Noble discuss growing up and going to school in Lafayette, CO. They also discuss the 1910 strike and prohibition. Boughton describes his work as a coal miner. The interview ends with Boughton recalling the stores in town, the initiation process for the fire department, the great depression (including coupon systems), his first car (a Model T) and subsequent cars, the mines near town, the mine unions, and childhood friends.
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Oral History with Clancy Waneka
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Clancy Waneka’s oral history interview conducted on February 10th, 1986, discussed his extensive life and career in the Lafayette, Colorado area. Clancy’s parents, Clarence “Gus” and Gladys Waneka, descended from a family of farmers who originally migrated to the area in the 1860s. Clancy’s interview provides many details about education in the 1920s, including games, sports, and recreation for both children and adults. Additionally, Clancy also describes his time at Colorado State University studying biology and his career in the agricultural industry.
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Oral History with Clifford and Hazel Alderson
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In this interview, Cliff reflects on his early life in Lafayette including the coal miners' strike of 1917. He also recalls many of the businesses in Lafayette at that time. Cliff describes how he has served the city of Lafayette including his time serving three terms on the Lafayette City Council, creating the first city swimming pool, serving as president of the Lafayette Lions Club and serving as the 2nd president of the Chamber of Commerce.
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Oral History with Columbine Mine Program
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This recording captures a meeting with Columbine Mine Program, recorded at the Lafayette Public Library on November 19th, 1987. There are multiple speakers on the tape, including Carl Williams, Sender Garland, Tom Lopez, Donna Carbone, Chuck Waneka, Gary Cox, Winston Morgan, Andy Deborski, Frank Deborski, Cotton Fletcher, Annette Iatesta, Jimmy Graham, Carl Williams, Paul Roads, Jack Davies, and Elmo Lewis. This conversation captured many facets of the history of the Columbine Mine, including mining conditions, treatment of workers, and mining strikes, specifically the 1927 Colorado Coal Strike. Much of the meeting analyzes the media coverage of mining through the 1920s to the 1950s. Additionally, there was some part of the conversation about the life and treatment of the mules. Finally, the meeting concludes with the participants evaluating the utility of coal in the greater region of Lafayette. This object also contains an additional audio file and transcript from a meeting recalling the "Columbine Mine Incident", with is undated and without speaker names, but still gives a valuable perspective on the series of events that led to the conflict.
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Oral History with Dorothy Estaneous
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In this oral history, Dorothy describes the Columbine Mine Massacre that took place on November 21, 1927. Her father was the first striking miner to be killed during the massacre.
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Oral History with Elmer E. and Emily Bell Moon
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In this interview, Elmer discusses his early childhood and has a lengthy discussion about how his family came to reside in Lafayette, where Elmer was then born. He worked in the mines for about 15 years and then after the war he went to work as a pipe layer. Elmer talks about the strike and the aftermath and how difficult it was for the city to recover.
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Oral History with Elmo Lewis
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Across four interview dates and eight audio tapes, Elmo Lewis discusses his life and the history of Lafayette. Elmo describes the history of his family and his wife’s family coming to Lafayette. He also details the founding of Lafayette by Mary Miller. Coal and coal mining is vital to the history of Lafayette and Elmo describes how his family was involved as well as the 1910 strike and the Wobblies strike of 1927. Elmo remembers many of the businesses that were in Lafayette when he was young and he recounts these as well as the clubs he has been involved in. In 1975, Elmo’s mother died and he worked with Mrs. Amicarella to start a Lafayette Miner’s Museum using her.
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Oral History with Frank Mastriano
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In this interview, Frank recalls his various jobs such as joining the fire department, working in the coal mines, and working as a farm hand. He describes his time playing baseball as well as life in the community. Frank also recalls several incidents such as the robbery of the bank and the Columbine Mine massacre.
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Oral History with Frank Miller
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Frank Miller’s recording of a presentation given at Lafayette Elementary School in 1968 described the history of the town of Lafayette alongside his personal history. Frank described the town from the time of his grandparent’s settlement in 1863 to the then present-day. A major theme from these recordings are the ways in which the town changed as the population grew. Miller’s presentation sheds light on evolving economic, social, and environmental development of the area. Additionally, he speaks about improvements in transportation and infrastructure, including new telephone capacity and paving roads throughout town. Frank also shared anecdotes from his time in school and in his early career.
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Oral History with Glen Anspach
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In this oral history, Glen Anspach describes how he came to settle in Lafayette, CO to start his jewelry business, Anspach Jewelry, in 1955. He describes what Lafayette was like and his experience running a business. Glen describes the Office of Emergency Preparedness, or the Civil Defense, which was established in the 1950s in Lafayette. He also describes the changes to the fire department, of which he was the chief in 1960. Glen and his wife had three children: Denise, Graig, and Dawn.
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