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Emma McCreanor and David Leach speak about the history of the Civilian Conservation Corps in Mesa County, Colorado, part of the third annual Al Look Series of lectures at the Museum of the West in 1983. Leach gives particular attention to the CCC camps on the Colorado National Monument and describes the road-building disaster in which several men died. This recording is made available via signed release by the Mesa County Oral History Project, a collaboration...

John Goulet remembers a piano concerto that he played with the Grand Junction High School woodwind orchestra in 1958. He describes his recitation of the Cremation of Sam McGee at the Daily Sentinel party in 1959. He talks about night life in Grand Junction in the 1950’s. He recalls attending a concert of the Paganini Quartet at Mesa College, and meeting John F. Kennedy at Café Caravan during his campaign for president. He remembers his friend Boots...

During a Mesa County Public Library program, Michael Husband speaks about the many cultural activities in early Grand Junction and Mesa County, Colorado, including music, dance, and theater. He names top performers who came to Grand Junction, including the Russian Ballet, John Philip Sousa, the New York Philharmonic, and the Chicago Symphony. He discusses the role of Walter Walker in supporting and promoting the arts. He lists the many venues that...

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 Annual Ute Visitation. This...

Ruth Smith and Isabella Cunningham, former reporters for The Daily Sentinel, recall their careers at the newspaper during the 1920’s through 1940’s. Cunningham talks about covering railroad news and events, including the institution of a sixteen-hour-day law for workers. They remember two young children that were killed when playing with dynamite in Fruitvale. They describe the annual Christmas party for needy children that was put on each year...

Bill Rump talks about his father Charlie Rump and his roll in developing the Redlands in Mesa County, Colorado as a member of the Redlands Company and the Redlands Water and Power Company. He recounts the efforts of those companies in creating orchards and other agricultural enterprises on the Redlands. He speaks about the Redlands School, roads, sports, youth activities, and other aspects of life on the Redlands and in Grand Junction. He remembers...

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...