Anyone who shops at a grocery store during the holidays has seen Salvation Army workers and volunteers standing outside, wearing the telltale red apron and ringing a bell to collect donations for those in need. Early Mesa County resident Nellie (Edwards) Robbins was one of those people, perhaps the longest to ever stick around […]
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Local History Thursday: Some of Grand Junction’s Quirky or Hidden Parks
Most Grand Junctionites know about Rocket Park, Lincoln Park, and the other larger parks that draw kids from throughout the valley. But the city also has some quirky little parks that not many people know about. Hillcrest Park forms the inner part of a cul-de-sac in the Hillcrest neighborhood, bears no sign that I can […]
Continue reading“Cowboys and Natives of Grand Mesa” video presentation set for Nov. 21 at Central Library
“Cowboys and Natives of Grand Mesa,” a public showing of two historical interview videos, is set for noon Thursday, Nov. 21, at the Mesa County Libraries Central Library, 443 N. 6th St. in Grand Junction. Archaeologist and tribal liaison Sally Crum will present videos of her interview with Plateau Valley cowboy Louis Kitson about riding […]
Continue readingLocal History Thursday: Time Warp with Mesa County Yearbooks
Feeling nostalgic? Did you or someone you love grow up and attend school in the earlier days of Mesa County? If you’re undergoing a genealogy research project, feel like checking out photos of the awesome hairstyle you were rockin’ forty years ago, or want to bust out your mom’s freshman year picture to embarrass her […]
Continue readingLocal History Thursday: Butting Heads with John Otto
If you’ve lived in Mesa County for a few years or have strolled around the Colorado National Monument more than once, you are most likely familiar with the legendary John Otto. John Otto was the custodian, founder, and undoubtedly the biggest cheerleader for our beautiful Colorado National Monument, a place of canyons and grandeur that […]
Continue readingLocal History Thursday: When Colorado Avenue was Grand Junction’s Barbary Coast
No one is going to confuse Colorado Avenue with San Francisco in its heyday of vice (the true Barbary Coast). But until the 1940’s, the street served as Grand Junction’s epicenter for adult entertainments, and thus took on the Barbary Coast moniker. The Grand Junction News presented early accounts of murder and mayhem on Colorado […]
Continue readingLocal History Thursday: We Can, and We Did
If you’re at all drawn to Martha Stewart, Pinterest, and food preservation, you may get excited about canning fruits and vegetables. This process has been used for generations to sustain foods in airtight storage to last through tumultuous winters, or simply to snack on during any season. With the abundance of early 1900s fruit and […]
Continue readingLocal History Thursday: Old Healing Techniques
If you’ve seen the classic movie Dumb and Dumber, you may recall a scene in which a policeman calls whiskey “Grandpa’s old cough syrup.” This famous phrase may have stemmed from parts of the country like Mesa County! Back in the early days of the Western Slope, there were many remedies for illness or […]
Continue readingHistorian to discuss the Moyer family in early Grand Junction Sept. 30 at Central Library
Local historian Dave Fishell will discuss the Moyer family’s important role in early Grand Junction at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Sept. 30, 2019, at the Mesa County Libraries Central Library, 443 N. 6th St. in Grand Junction. The Moyers were Grand Junction pioneers who founded The Fair Store, which became one of the largest retail businesses […]
Continue readingLocal History Thursday: Three Incarnations of The Mesa County Fairgrounds
Did you know that the Mesa County Fairgrounds at Veteran’s Memorial Park were once known as Uranium Downs? People who attended horse races, motocross, WWF style “wrestling,” and other events back in the day might remember this nod to Mesa County’s mining (and radioactive) legacy. The Mesa County Fairgrounds opened in their current location in […]
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