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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 Christmas Memories,...
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Al Look talks about the Grand Junction train depot munitions fire of June 1943, and the local and national media response. He speaks about his son Al Jr.’s career at Dow Chemical. He remembers a fire that occurred in his home, and subsequently renting a home from an owner who kept a monkey in the basement. He discusses his experiences as an original member of the Grand Junction Lions Club, the many practical jokes played by members, and the important...
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Al Look talks about singing in a quartet, publishing books on Mesa County history, and fishing. He also discusses various people and places of the Western Slope. 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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Leta Atchison describes life as an employee in the advertising department of the Daily Sentinel newspaper in the 1940’s and 1950’s. She recalls her boss Al Look, additional work typing his book manuscripts, and their friendship. She remembers the election of Harry S. Truman and the Sentinel’s efforts to track and broadcast the vote in the days before television in Grand Junction. The recording is provided by the Mesa County Oral History Project,...
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Mary Price discusses what she knew about Walter Walker and his family, impressions of Walker held by Mesa County residents, social events the Walkers were involved in, the presence of the Ku Klux Klan in Grand Junction, and the Typographical Union Strike. She also talks about her German immigrant father, his ownership of the prominent LaCourt Hotel in Grand Junction, and his fear of the Klan. This recording is made available via signed release by...
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Josephine Biggs discusses her memories of Cross Orchards and owner “Colonel” Bill Cross, horseback riding excursions, and the LaCourt Hotel. She also talks about her work with the YWCA during a time when many young girls were “getting out of hand with all the boys coming home” from World War I, Lincoln Park and Lincoln Park School, her husband’s development of the Lincoln Park Neighborhood, and some details of the home they lived in there....
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Glenn W. McFall relates a tale of riding the rails during the Depression as a teenager and getting food and help from a prostitute in Salida, Colorado. He also talks in general about prostitution in Grand Junction and the American West. He discusses the Land's End Hill Climb auto race, prominent physicians and businessmen of early Grand Junction, the shoe trade, button shoes and women's fashion. He then talks about Chipeta's visits to the McConnell-Lowes...
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Edwin “Ted” Winterburn talks about the many Grand Junction, Colorado buildings built by his father, Samuel E. Winterburn, including the Majestic Theater (now the Mesa Theater). He discusses growing up in Grand Junction and working as an electrician and car mechanic. He speaks about moving around the country a great deal and working various electrician jobs at the start of World War ll, then returning to the Grand Valley area to retire in the...
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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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Ray Bernal talks about his early life in the Grand Valley and the wide variety of jobs that he held, including work as a "gandy dancer" on the railroad, mining, farming, thinning beets, janitorial work, and herding sheep. He also discusses a group breakfast he had with President Harry S. Truman, where Truman's daughter staged a musical performance. This recording is made available via signed release by the Mesa County Oral History Project, a collaboration...
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Armand de Lavillette de Beque lectures about the history of theater in Mesa County, Colorado in a meeting of the Mesa County Historical Society. He talks about productions put on in DeBeque and Fruita, and about the general audience. He discusses his teaching career and how many plays he directed as an educator. This interview also includes speeches from Nina Brouse and Hellen (Hawxhurst) Young. These ladies talk about how they helped produce plays,...