In 1776 Atanasio Dominguez and Silvestre Vélez de Escalante set out on an expedition to find a route from Santa Fe, New Mexico to the coast of northern California. Dominguez and Escalante were Franciscan priests who were traveling along with 9 other companions. Part of their expedition took them from northward from New Mexico through […]
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Local History Thursday: Teachers of Early Mesa County
Nowadays, teachers can casually stroll out to their vehicle in the morning, which may be already warmed up during winter time with the help of a remote car starter. They drive at speeds of 25 mph+ to work while sipping a thermos of coffee and enjoying the music or podcasts from their Bluetooth radio. Once […]
Continue readingLocal History Thursday: Renaissance Man Al Look
What didn’t Al Look do? In his life, the longtime Grand Junction resident homesteaded near Dove Creek, Colorado, worked as an advertising manager for Durango and Grand Junction newspapers, wrote a popular column for The Daily Sentinel, became a knowledgeable amateur archaeologist, geologist and paleontologist who was involved with important dinosaur and Paleo-Indian digs in […]
Continue readingResources for exploring the outdoors and local culture
We’re pretty lucky to be living in beautiful western Colorado! To help you explore our area, your library has some great resources to make your cultural and outdoor experiences more fun AND easier on your wallet. For Exploring the Outdoors National Geographic Trails Illustrated Maps – the Central Library and Fruita Branch have regional maps […]
Continue readingAn Oral History with U.S. Congressman Wayne Aspinall of Palisade
Mesa County residents can now find an oral history interview of U.S. Representative Wayne Aspinall online in the Mesa County Libraries catalog, via the Mesa County Oral History Project. In his time, Wayne Aspinall was one of the most powerful men in the United States. As one of the longest serving members of the U.S. […]
Continue readingMesa County Oral History Project interviews are now available for listening online
More than 60 audio interviews with historical figures of Mesa County are now available online for easy public access as part of the new Mesa County Oral History Project digital archive. The Mesa County Oral History Project is a joint effort of Mesa County Libraries and Museums of Western Colorado. The 60-plus interviews available now […]
Continue readingDino Dreamin’
If you’re a girl like me, you grew up playing with dinosaurs. When your sister tried to force you to play with her little Suzy dolls instead of dinosaurs, you made your T-Rex figurine bite Suzy’s arm off within a matter of minutes. My fascination for paleontology and dinosaurs began early and took off like […]
Continue readingGrand Junction’s History in “Firsts”
Every town has its firsts: the first baby born, the first death, the first editorial shaming of a woman for riding her horse through town in inappropriate dress (see news clipping). The firsts of many towns and cities are mired in the haze of pre-history, when no one thought to make a note about the […]
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