People

: Sarah Swedberg; A professor at Colorado Mesa University specializing in early American history. Since coming to CMU, she has also been active in community social justice causes. She recorded a series of oral history interviews with people in the area LGBTQ community, and has recently embarked on a series of interviews documenting the Black Lives Matter movement in Mesa County, to be housed under the Social Justice Archive at Mesa County Libraries.

: Saul Halyve; A Hopi Indian, student at the Teller Insitute and distance runner who lived in the Grand Valley. According to Levi Morse, a very tall professional distance runner was brought into Grand Junction to show Halyve “his place.” Halyve was only 5’ 2”. They raced at night at the Mesa County Fairgrounds (now Lincoln Park). Halyve beat the professional runner soundly. Although he had offers to train as a professional racer, he instead bought a small farm in Appleton, stayed there for two or three years and then left the valley. U.S. Indian Census Rolls show him living at the Teller Institute as an 18 year old student in 1910, and living with his wife and two children on the Hopi Reservation in 1934.

: Savannah Ashmore; Savannah Ashmore served as the sixteenth Mesa County Libraries Artist in Residence at 970West Studio. The dates of her residency were from September 13-December 20, 2021. During the residency, she kept open studio hours at 970West once a week, allowing her to showcase her art and creative process for Mesa County residents. She also gave four public, educational programs: Nature Journaling in the Discovery Garden (September 17) Mixed Media Art Journaling (October 6) All Ages Open Art Studio (November 13) Create Your Own Handcrafted Stationery (December 9) Savannah Ashmore grew up in Mesa County. Nestled in the bosom of the Colorado National Monument with desert peaches blooming in the palisades, she found herself inspired by the flourishing nature that filled her childhood. Her artistic expression began as a young child and it has evolved as she grew older into a ritual of self-care and healing. The continuous expression of self is an important theme in her creation and a genuine, organic stream of creation is crucial in the work she makes. Savannah graduated from Rocky Mountain College of Art + Design with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Illustration in 2018. She currently resides in Grand Junction, Colorado with dreams of relocating to the West Coast. With her calico and mixed breed border collie by her side, Savannah will continually create and illustrate her way through life.

: Savannah Nelson; Contributor to "Out of the Blue and Into the Sun," (source: Out of the Blue and Into the Sun: A Gunnison Valley Journal)

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