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Jean Page discusses the story of Ed Scott, a Mesa County, Colorado pioneer and longtime employee and manager of the Red Trunk clothing store. She also talks about other businesses and people in Grand Junction. 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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Voice Recording
In a general meeting of the Mesa County Historical Society, Armand de Beque describes the history of oil shale development in De Beque and the Piceance Basin, Colorado. He offers three stories for how it was discovered that oil shale can burn. He describes the founding of the Shale Oil Syndicate, an organization founded by his father, Dr. W.A.E. de Beque, William R. Warren, George Newton, and William Dinkel. He explains the lengthy process the Shale...
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Voice Recording
Paul Bowers, then the airport manager of Walker Field (now known as the Grand Junction Regional Airport), talks about new airport facilities, their anticipated effect on businesses along Horizon Drive and North Avenue, and answers questions from the North Avenue Association. This recording is made available via signed release by the Mesa County Oral History Project, a collaboration of Mesa County Libraries and the Museums of Western Colorado.
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Voice Recording
Ray Boggs talks about his family’s move to Colorado and about attending the University of Colorado at Boulder. He remembers playing on a baseball team for the Midwest Oil Company and briefly as a professional pitcher for the Boston Braves. He describes pitching methods. He recalls working for the International Harvester company, a farm implement dealer, and how the company brought him to Grand Junction, where he became the manager of the store there...
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Voice Recording
Grace and Ralph Inskeep talk about coming to Mack, Colorado with Grace’s family in 1920. They speak about Ralph’s job working for the Bureau of Reclamation at Camp 7 and his subsequent job as a trackman for the Uintah Railway. They discuss the people and businesses of Loma and Mack, and living in the old Sunset School building. Ralph talks about working at Mesa College as a maintenance man. They speak about attending the Church of the Brethren...
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Voice Recording
Stephen Johnson talks about his education and background as a horticulturalist, and opening Johnson’s House of Flowers in Montrose, Colorado in 1919. He speaks about moving to Grand Junction, where he opened a florist business of the same name in 1937. He describes his love of practical jokes, shopping with his sons for school clothes on Main Street, and the different businesses there. He talks about his son Bob Johnson, his friendship with Al Look...
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Voice Recording
Eugene Perry talks about his childhood in Grand Junction’s Riverside neighborhood. He speaks about working for the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad from the time he was thirteen years old, his career building track as a section foreman, and the history of D&RG in Grand Junction. He discusses landmarks such as Bowman’s slaughterhouse, the Pest House, and the town’s ice houses. He reminisces about a youth curfew that was in place in Grand Junction...
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Voice Recording
Bob McCray, who owned the Diamond Saddle Shop in Mesa County, Colorado, speaks about his introduction to the saddlemaking business, and his employment in the Visalia Saddle Company near Yosemite National Park. He talks about saddle styles, saddlemaking techniques, spurs, chaps, the history of saddlery, and the state of saddlemaking both locally and nationally. He remembers his first exposure to horses as a boy in Missouri, and a brief tenure as a...
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Voice Recording
Inez Prinster discusses the history of Grand Junction, Colorado buildings, businesses and people in a presentation for the Mesa County Historical Society. This recording is made available via signed release by the Mesa County Oral History Project, a collaboration of Mesa County Libraries and the Museums of Western Colorado.
*Photograph from the 1947 Mesa College annual.
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Voice Recording
Frank Simonetti Jr. talks about the arrival of his Italian immigrant parents in Grand Junction, Colorado, about his school days at the Whitman and St. Joseph’s School, and about the history of the downtown area. He speaks about working for the Citizens Finance Company for many years and about Melvin “Pappy” Due, a founding member and longtime president of the company. He describes what it was like to work for a financing and insurance company...
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Voice Recording
Wyatt Wood describes his time as the manager of the Grand Junction Chamber of Commerce and talks about the people he met there, including John Otto, who at one time was allowed to keep a desk in the Chamber office. The interview was conducted by the Mesa County Oral History Project, a collaboration of Mesa County Libraries and the Museums of Western Colorado.
Format:
Voice Recording
Loyd Files talks about his early life in Kansas, moving to Colorado with his family via covered wagon in 1914, and the process of filing for a homestead. He remembers homesteading with his parents in Lamar, Colorado, and with his brother in Glade Park in 1920. He recalls working on the crew that built the Serpents Trail over the Colorado National Monument, meeting John Otto, and helping build Rimrock Drive over the Monument. He speaks about his marriage...
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Voice Recording
Sterling Smith, executive officer of the C.D. Smith Drug Company, talks about the childhood and life of his father, C.D. Smith, who founded the company. He describes his father’s success and the growth of his business into one of the first drugstore chains in Colorado. He discusses diversification of the business as it became involved with wholesale candy sales, chemical manufacture, and real estate. He talks about activities of C.D. Smith and the...
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Voice Recording
Sarah E. Gowen talks about her longtime residence at 14th and Main Streets in Grand Junction, Colorado, and about the history of local businesses, buildings and people. 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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Voice Recording
Dick Williams talks about the games he played with children as a boy in the downtown area of Grand Junction, including hide and go seek and kick the can. He remembers playing sandlot baseball and other games in a vacant lot on 9th Street between Grand and White Avenues. He recalls swimming in ditches and canals, and ice skating in what is now Lincoln Park. He speaks about competing in athletics in high school and college, and in Pioneer Clubs, which...
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Voice Recording
Ethel Keleher talks about growing up in Kansas, moving to a ranch near Trinidad when she was nineteen, and her family. She remembers her husband, children, and how cancer affected their lives. She speaks about living on a homestead in Fowler, where they raised poultry, and sold eggs and milk. She recalls arriving in Mesa County in 1923, shopping and riding the streetcar in Grand Junction, and businesses in Fruita. She speaks about working with fruit...
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Voice Recording
Ray Quan, longtime owner of the Far East Restaurant, talks about the Far East Restaurant and about its newly renovated building (in 1983). He describes the cultural significance of the architecture, art and sculpture, and the importance of expressing his Chinese heritage through his food and restaurant. He describes some elements of Chinese history, including regional differences in cooking and cuisine. He speaks about the history of the restaurant,...
Format:
Voice Recording
Wilbur Downey talks about his family settling in Loma, Colorado, where his father bought a pool hall in 1919. He describes the agricultural character of Loma at that time. He and Mildred speak about running the Loma Store, a general store, and about other businesses in Loma. They talk about the settlement of Loma by people escaping the Dust Bowl in the 1930’s. They discuss Loma’s train depot, passenger train service to Loma, freight trains that...