People

: Virgil Francis Hickman; He was one of the first fruit farmers in the East Orchard Mesa area of Mesa County, Colorado. His grandfather Frank Hickman, an immigrant from England, first settled on a small ranch near 39 Road in Palisade, Colorado, where Virgil was born. Virgil later moved with his parents, Henry Hickman and Grace E. (Osborne) Hickman to a ranch in the Cameo area, where he lived until he was seven. At that time, they moved to the Island Ranch owned by his grandfather (now Island Acres State Park). Virgil returned with his family to Palisade in 1919. He attended grade school in Cameo and high school in Palisade. He married his wife in 1931. After dabbling in mining, he bought land in east Orchard Mesa and started growing peaches. In addition to growing peaches and helping to develop irrigation in Palisade and East Orchard Mesa, he also worked on road building projects with the Forest Service, including the Ward Lake to Land’s End Road portion of the Skyway Road on the Grand Mesa.

: Virgil Gilcrest; Owner of the Red Trunk clothing store on Main Street in Grand Junction in the early Twentieth century. He was the employer and friend of Ed Scott. According to former Red Trunk employee Richard “Dick” Williams, Gilcrest had been a hat salesman prior to opening the store. Like other hat salesmen, he hauled his wares in a large trunk. His trunk was red. When he opened the clothing store, he placed the red trunk outside on a pole.

: Virgil Jackson; Virgil Jackson lived in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin in the early part of the 20th century.

: Virgil Van Dyke; He was one of the founders of the Mesa County Sheriff Posse. He organized the Colorado Stampede, a local rodeo. He was also an active trail rider. On top of that, he ran the North Avenue Washeteria, a car wash on North Avenue in Grand Junction, Colorado.

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