People

: Edward "Earl" Mahannah; An early resident of Whitewater, Colorado. His parents owned one of the largest businesses in Whitewater in the early Twentieth century. It supplied nearly all of the food for the Gateway area that was beginning to develop its mineral resources. He worked in the general store owned by his father, Eli Mahanna, in Whitewater that catered to miners in the late Nineteenth and early Twentieth centuries. He attended Chicago University and was the husband of Lucille Mahanna. Also, he was a schoolmate of Darwin Burford's in the first or second grade. He served in the U.S. Army during World War I.

: Edward "Ed" Currier Sr.; He was an early settler of the Pomona area of Mesa County. He purchased 160 acres in the area around what is now F ½ Road in the late Nineteenth or early Twentieth century. The land was later split between his sons George and Ed. George sold his share to Ed and moved to Collbran, where he was a successful rancher. One of Ed Sr.'s brothers was a successful rancher near Mesa, while further generations continued to ranch. Ed Sr.’s son Lucius continued to ranch north of Pomona, but eventually also moved to Plateau Valley. In the early 1900’s, Ed Sr. donated land for the first Pomona School, which was built at F ½ Road and 25 Road.

: Edward "Ed" Thomas Taylor; A U.S. Representative from Glenwood Springs, Colorado from 1909-1941. He was born in Illinois and graduated from high school in Leavenworth, Kansas. He came to Leadville as a young man in 1881 and became a school teacher and then principal. After finishing law school in Michigan, he returned to Leadville and practiced law. Subsequently, he was the superintendent of schools in Lake County in 1884, and the deputy district attorney in 1885. In 1887, he moved to Glenwood Springs. He became the district attorney for the 9th Judicial District from 1887 to 1889 and then served in the Colorado State Senate from 1896 to 1908. Also, he served as Glenwood Springs city attorney and as the Garfield County attorney. While a U.S. Congressman, he sponsored the Taylor Grazing Act, which regulated grazing on public lands and improved the quality of range lands. He was the chairman of the House Finance Committee. As a good friend of Wyatt M. Wood, he helped appropriate funds for the Rim Rock Drive project over the Colorado National Monument. He died in 1941. *Some information taken from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. **Public domain photograph from the Library of Congress.

: Edward Alexander Martin; A mortician and the owner of Martin Mortuary in Grand Junction, Colorado. He was also the son of Martin Mortuary founder F.C. Martin. He was born in Illinois and moved to Grand Junction in 1917, when he was 15. He attended Grand Junction High School. He became a licensed mortician after attending Worsham College of Mortuary Science in Chicago, Illinois in 1921. He later went to Occidental College in Los Angeles. He married Helen (Maharg) Martin, a fellow mortician and graduate of Occidental, in 1929. In 1945, he wrote a book called “Psychology of Funeral Service,” which was used in college mortuary science programs for many years. He was the president of the National Funeral Directors Association, the Colorado Funeral Directors Association, and the Colorado State Board of Mortuary Science. He was also involved in the Masons, the Elks, the Odd Fellows, the Rotary Club, the Grand Junction Chamber of Commerce and the First United Presbyterian Church. *Some information in this biography comes from an obituary for Edward Martin published in the May 14, 1987 edition of the Daily Sentinel.

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