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Shannon Robinson talks about attending grade school in Gunnison, Colorado, where she was largely shunned or bullied by white students as the first African-American student to attend her elementary school. She speaks about living in Aurora, Colorado, where she made friends with other Black children, but also experienced bullying from children of all ethnic backgrounds because of her mixed race. She discusses getting to know other members of her African...
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Paul and Wanda Breckler talk about the annual tours of Colorado that they conducted for teachers for many years during the 1970’s and 80’s. They speak in depth about their tour of the Colorado National Monument and working with local historian Al Look. The interview was conducted by the Mesa County Oral History Project, a collaboration of Mesa County Libraries and the Museums of Western Colorado.
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Gertrude Rader talks about the profession and lives of teachers, who were primarily women, in Western Colorado during the early Twentieth century. She discusses how, in small communities, women were expected to be much more than teachers including: Doctors’ assistants in a pinch, de facto members of the families that they boarded with in cases of illness or maternity, and moral pillars of the community. She includes many anecdotes from her own teaching...
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Al Look talks about his father’s grocery store in the early Twentieth century, an incident involving his cat, and a shipment of butter. He mentions his family’s move from Nebraska to Stockton, Kansas. He speaks about the various jobs he had, his education, and the dangers of the open prairie. He also recalls the activities the children would participate in for fun. The interview was conducted by the Mesa County Oral History Project, a collaboration...
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Walt Simineo talks about growing up on a ranch in Whitewater, Colorado, his father’s homestead there, and describes the town in the early Twentieth century. He speaks about working as a coal miner in Whitewater and about mining operations there. He discusses the evolution of soil amendments used in farming and the changes in area ranching practices. The interview was conducted by the Mesa County Oral History Project, a collaboration of Mesa County...
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David Sundal discusses in great detail the life of famous author Dalton Trumbo of Grand Junction, Colorado, based in large part on Sundal’s conversations with the author. Sundal describes the local community’s relationships with Trumbo, reactions to Trumbo’s book Eclipse, portrayals of prominent businessman William Moyer and Daily Sentinel editor Walter Walker in the book, and Trumbo’s life and career after leaving Mesa County. He talks about...
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Gladys Gross, who grew up on an apple farm at the intersection of North Avenue and 12th Street, talks about her father’s residential development of their farm land. She discusses old businesses in town, including the icehouses utilized by the railroad near Third Street and how they burned down. She also talks about the desperation and hunger of people during the Great Depression, her work with New Deal programs, the route of the Little Book Cliff...
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Rufus Hirons talks about his education in Grand Junction schools, and about teachers and school district employees (including his father, Walter Hirons). He also touches on the Fruita to Grand Junction Interurban line, sheep ranching with his grandfather, and local Italian Americans. The interview was conducted by the Mesa County Oral History Project, a collaboration of Mesa County Libraries, the Museums of Western Colorado and the Mesa County Historical...
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Rufus Hirons describes his memories of Grand Junction, Colorado in the early Twentieth century, and talks about his work in the ranching and livestock industries. The interview was conducted by the Mesa County Oral History Project, a collaboration of Mesa County Libraries, the Museums of Western Colorado and the Mesa County Historical Society. *Photograph from 1923 Grand Junction High School yearbook.
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To mark the centennial celebration of the town of Grand Junction, Colorado in 1981, the Mesa County Oral History Project wrote and recorded several radio plays about local history. Beginning on September 26, 1981, local radio stations KSTR, KREX-AM, KREX-FM, and KMSA broadcast the plays. Authors of the plays used interviews recorded by the Mesa County Oral History Project as inspiration. This archival recording contains the play Early Day Schools...
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Antonio Clark talks about growing up in Denver, Colorado, and the important role of youth sports in his upbringing. He speaks about his career in high school sports and about being a walk-on as a football player at Colorado Mesa University in Grand Junction. He discusses racism that he experienced as an African-American on the CMU campus, but also his view that diversity on the campus has increased, and that some attitudes about race have changed. He...
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Josephine “Jo” Ferguson describes her life as a teacher in Rifle, Colorado, Las Vegas, Nevada, and at Central High School in Mesa County. She talks about running a dairy and cattle ranches with her husband in Garfield County in the 1920’s and 30’s. She speaks about the boarding school in Louisiana that she attended as a child, and about experiencing the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic in Louisiana. Josephine describes social activities she enjoyed,...
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Charlotte (Jackson) Claar describes growing up on a homestead in Cheyenne County, Colorado, where the family witched for water, built an adobe house, and held jack rabbit drives. She speaks about moving to Grand Valley, Colorado (now Parachute) in 1920. She talks about her 37-year career as a teacher and then principal in Grand Valley, at the Clifton School, and at the Fruitvale School. She discusses her father and husband’s careers on the railroad....
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Don Burgess talks about enlisting in the US Army during World War II, receiving basic training as a gunner on B-17’s and B-24’s, and being stationed in England with the Army Air Corps. He describes his first bombing mission, a raid over Berlin. He speaks about his grade school years in Montrose and Grand Junction, about playing high school and college sports, and about playing on a conference-champion football team at Mesa Junior College during...
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Janielle Westermire talks about growing up in Grand Junction, Colorado, where her father ministered at the Handy Chapel. She speaks about feeling she lived in a safe, close knit community, but also about racism she experienced as a child. She describes the inspiring life of her father, Harry Butler, who worked in hydrology with the Bureau of Reclamation before becoming the first African-American school board member in Mesa County and the first African-American...
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Della Crider talks about her life on a farm in the Fruita, Colorado area, and teaching at the Rhone School. The interview was conducted by the Mesa County Oral History Project, a collaboration of Mesa County Libraries, the Museums of Western Colorado and the Mesa County Historical Society.
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Early Grand Junction resident Ruth Larson describes her life as a teacher and principal in Mesa County schools. The interview was conducted by the Mesa County Oral History Project, a collaboration of Mesa County Libraries, the Museums of Western Colorado and the Mesa County Historical Society.
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Dudley W. Mitchell discusses his family history, early Colorado mining days, and his various jobs working for the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad over fifty years. The interview was conducted by the Mesa County Oral History Project, a collaboration of Mesa County Libraries, the Museums of Western Colorado and the Mesa County Historical Society.
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Eva Wood Leslie discusses her family’s farm life on Pinon Mesa, Colorado, sheep farming, chores done around the home, and school teaching in Mesa County. The interview was conducted by the Mesa County Oral History Project, a collaboration of Mesa County Libraries, the Museums of Western Colorado and the Mesa County Historical Society.
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Vern Wood discusses his life as an early Mesa County resident, homesteader in Pinon Mesa, and cattle rancher on Glade Park. Wood and his wife Bernice also discuss the building of the Serpent’s Trail on the Colorado National Monument, life at local schools, country dances on Glade Park, transportation methods, and murder scandals that occurred around Glade Park. The interview was conducted by the Mesa County Oral History Project, a collaboration...