Larry Watson’s stunning novel of the Sidey family is set in the turbulent sixties in the prairie town of Gladstone, Montana. Crusty old Calvin lives off the grid outside of town, staying away from anyone who might remember his mix-up with the law. Calvin’s son Bill runs the family real estate business. Despite their precarious […]
Continue readingRoad Trip! 50 Great American Places by Brent D. Glass
If you are a road tripper who always wants to stop at historical markers, you must read 50 Great American Places by Brent D. Glass. Mr Glass is the Director Emeritus of the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, colloquially known as America’s Attic. His book is more than a list of travel destinations. Rather, […]
Continue readingAntoine Robidoux’s Travel Log Entry
On November 13, 1837 Antoine Robidoux would have been traveling near the border of Utah and Colorado. There was a good chance that he was transporting trade goods between one of the trading posts that he established in the region. One of those trading posts was Fort Uncompahgre, which was located outside of what is […]
Continue readingMy Favorite Childhood Librarian: Days at the Clifton Library
Clifton was an interesting place when I was a kid. In the late 1970’s and throughout the 1980’s, my neighborhood around 32 1/8th Road and others in the area had many abandoned houses with overgrown weeds, broken fences, and other features that might capture a child’s imagination. Who left that gate open? What’s inside the […]
Continue readingHaunting Cold War novel
It’s London, the sixties, Cold War paranoia is at its peak. Who is spying for the enemy? Who are the innocent bystanders? In Exposure by Helen Dunmore, no one is quite who they seem as Giles Holloway and Simon Callington, long-time friends and colleagues working for the Admiralty, tragically find out. A misstep in his […]
Continue readingGet in the game: read!
Summer Reading at Mesa County Libraries is just around the corner – the program begins May 23rd and you can register online now! There are a ton of great teen events going on during the Summer, beginning with the Teen Kickoff Party on June 3rd from 5-8pm in the Central Library Parking Lot. Come by […]
Continue readingThe Do-Right
In The Do-Right, by Lisa Sandlin, it’s 1973 in Beaumont, Texas, and Delpha Wade is out of prison after 14 years. She was in because she killed one of the men who was raping her. She’d have killed the other one, too, but he got away. She’s out now, and all she needs is a quiet […]
Continue readingHappy Early May Bank Holiday for Anglophiles and walkers!
Early May Bank Holiday, which falls on May 2nd this year, kicks off the start of the summer season in England. Timed to coincide with the more traditional May Day, it is a day for Britons to head outdoors. To help you celebrate vicariously, we offer three books about walking in England. The first is […]
Continue readingMining History in Mesa County
Agriculture was the original economic backbone in Grand Junction but the discovery of mineral resources in the area would quickly make an impact. Deposits of coal, copper, radium, vanadium, and uranium were discovered and mined for decades in the region. In 1888 commercial coal mining began and numerous coal mines were in operation in the […]
Continue readingWhere Are The Ladies? The Lonely Men of Grand Junction in 1883
It seems not many women lived in Grand Junction in its earliest years. In 1882 and 1883, women were scarce enough that the Grand Junction News often remarked when the wife of a man joined him here in town. The News also occasionally noted when a single woman passed through, as it did with Miss […]
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