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Walter Dalby, founder of local accounting firm Dalby, Wendland and Company and flight enthusiast, talks about the history of the Grand Junction Regional Airport and about the companies and people involved in the local air travel industry, including: Clyde Davis, Walter Walker, and Eddie Drapela. He also talks about balloon rallies and airshows held in Grand Junction. The interview was conducted by the Mesa County Oral History Project, a collaboration...
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Al Look talks about doing publicity for The Daily Sentinel and about organizing events, such as a local basketball tournament, for the newspaper. He also talks about his role in creating both the Soup Eaters, an organization that provided charity to local children, and the Grand Junction Cancer Society. He details his experience selling advertising for newspapers, and his techniques for selling advertising. He talks about his wife, Margaret (Langen)...
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Al Look talks about some of the colorful people that lived in Durango during the 1920’s, and about the history and growth of the town. He also tells about his marriage to Margaret Langen and their honeymoon in Mesa Verde National Park, and touches on his boyhood in Kansas. Look discusses his days working for both the Grand Junction News and the Daily Sentinel, and describes his role in providing publicity for events sponsored by the Sentinel. The...
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Kenneth James Baird lectures about Daily Sentinel publisher Walter Walker’s career through the 1930’s, when he was most active in promoting community development. The lecture, on May 4, 1981, was sponsored by 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.
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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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Clifford Houston discusses his employment at Grand Junction Junior College starting in 1929 (now Colorado Mesa University), including his efforts to increase student enrollment, create student housing, and secure funding for scholarships. Houston served as the third dean of the school, from 1932-1937. The interview was conducted by the Mesa County Oral History Project, a collaboration of Mesa County Libraries and the Museums of Western Colorado. *Photograph...
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Fritz Becker, a former officer in the Grand Junction Police Department, discusses crime in Grand Junction, including: murders, the clean-up of prostitution and vice on Colorado Avenue, gambling houses and bootlegging. 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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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 Sousa Day in Grand...
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Elberta Francis and David Sundal hold a conversation about former Grand Junction resident and Academy Award-winning screenwriter Dalton Trumbo. Francis speaks about knowing Trumbo through family connections and as a child of similar age. During his conversation with Francis and in a separate interview with Evelyn Kyle, Sundal talks about interviewing Trumbo and his impressions of him. Together, Francis and Sundal paint a picture of Trumbo and his...
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Dale T. Luke talks about his work as a builder and contractor in Grand Junction, Colorado, and about his involvement in the Orchard Mesa Lions Club and other community organizations. Dale also discusses the change in population of Grand Junction over the years as related to the uranium boom. 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...
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Marie Treece describes running Grand Junction, Colorado’s community concert series and the many famous musicians who visited Grand Junction during the early to mid-1900’s. She recalls the difficulty that African-American musicians, such as Roland Hayes, had in finding a place to stay. She talks about her experiences teaching and travelling with a Mesa College choral troop. She discusses directing a choir in one of the area’s CCC camps, hosting...
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Dr. Addie (Russell) Maynard tells stories of her life as an osteopathic doctor in Mesa County, Colorado, including a time when she helped a woman give birth on a train with barely any supplies. She also touches on the social life in Grand Junction when she was a child, changes throughout the years in the practice of medicine, and the various medical resources available to early Mesa County residents. The interview was conducted by the Mesa County...
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Al Look talks about elements of Grand Junction, Colorado history and about local dinosaur finds. He also discusses newspaper printing presses in use at the Daily Sentinel and Durango Herald, and newspaper advertising. 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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Al look talks about the many books he authored, the many speeches he gave, and his techniques for public speaking. He speaks about his endeavors in paleontology, the many places he visited during his travels, and his written contributions to local history. 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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Al Look talks about taking groups of teachers on tours of the Colorado National Monument and about the history of Grand Junction’s Avalon Theater. He describes the Biltmore, a gambling hall on Main Street owned by J.W. “Big Kid” Eames, and the murder of Eames by dance hall owner and would-be robber Fern “Bubbles” Sadler. He also discusses Pretty Boy Floyd’s brief stay at the Yellow Jacket in Delta, Colorado and his frequenting of Grand...
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Mary Giblin, an employee of The Daily Sentinel newspaper beginning in 1941, talks about her working relationships with owner/publishers Walter and Preston Walker, with insights on the character of both men. She also discusses the staff and working life at the paper, and her career as a reporter on both women’s issues and the political beat. This recording is made available via signed release by the Mesa County Oral History Project, a collaboration...
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Al Look discusses his 40-year employment with the Daily Sentinel, including his relationships with publishers Walter Walker and Preston Walker and the lives of the two men. He also discusses the Typographical Union Strike of 1946 and the hardships it caused between the union and the Sentinel. Al also talks about his and Walter Walker’s relationship with the Ku Klux Klan, Walker’s tolerance of the brothels on South Avenue, and Walker’s rivalry...
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Clem Goettelman explains his time as an employee for The Daily Sentinel under Preston Walker as the publisher. He discusses his position as a union leader before the Typographical Union Strike, conflicts within the work environment, Walter Walker’s involvement with and subsequent opposition to the Ku Klux Klan, and The Daily Sentinel being one of the only papers in the country to quickly cover President Theodore Roosevelt’s death with a full...
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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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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...