People

: Thomas Williams; Early resident of Crested Butte, Colorado. Died in the Jokerville Mine Explosion on January 24, 1884.

: Thomas Y. Reese; He was a Welsh immigrant, born in Pembra, Wales, who came to the United States after spending his honeymoon in Scranton, Pennsylvania. He and his wife, Elizabeth (Williams) Reese, soon moved to Scranton. Around 1902, Reese was advised to go West as a cure for his black lung disease. He spent a year living in Colorado Springs with his brother, where his health dramatically improved. He then visited Welsh friend Arthur Reed Lloyd in Palisade, Colorado, and agreed to purchase a homestead on East Orchard Mesa. In the meantime, he did masonry work on both the Grand Junction train depot and the YMCA building there, and the family lived in the Welsh Apartments on Colorado Avenue, one of two tan apartment houses just behind the Avalon Theater. He and his family had moved to the homestead by 1904. Despite his declining health, he sang in the Baptist Church in Palisade. He also sang at funerals and in the First Baptist Church in Grand Junction. Prior to moving to Colorado, he sang with his church group at a festival in Atlantic City each year. When his health declined, he was the main babysitter for his children while his wife worked as a nurse.