People

: Jean Page; Jean Page was an early participant in the Mesa County Oral History Project, which began in 1975. She transcribed several interviews of early Grand Valley residents, and also interviewed residents. In 1992, she published the book From Hoof to Wheel, a book that told many of the stories that she gleaned from interviews. Though she grew up on Mesa County, Colorado, she spent some of her high school years near Las Vegas while her father was an engineer working on the Hoover Dam.

: Jean Urruty; A Basque immigrant who came to Mesa County in 1925. Along with other Basque immigrants, he was a sheepherder in the Pinon Mesa and Green River, Utah areas. After approximately five years of herding sheep, he and other Basques pooled their money and purchased a sheep ranching outfit, which they did in the middle of the Great Depression. In 1935, he purchased the LaSalle Hotel on Grand Junction’s Colorado Avenue, and helped decrease prostitution and other vices that were then common on that street (Grand Junction’s “Barbary Coast”). Though he faced discrimination, and was disallowed entry in the area's fraternal and community organizations due to his Basque origins, he became a prominent citizen of the town. He maintained a strong affinity for Basque culture throughout his life. He built the jai alai court on his farm at 24 and G Roads (now Canyon View Park), was active in the Western Colorado Basque Association, and was a philanthropist assisting students and immigrants. Interviewer Evelyn Kyle also recalls him being an amateur horticulturalist with a great knowledge of fruit trees. *Some information for this biography came from The Daily Sentinel, 22 July 1983, page 1,5.

: Jeanette Lane; Student at Colorado Christian University, graduated May, 2016.

: Jeanette LeBeau; Jeanette LeBeau was an early resident of Mesa County. Her grandfather came to Mesa County in 1887, bringing his wife and family from Cherry Creek and settling in High Point in Fruita, Colorado. She spent her youth rock climbing in the Colorado National Monument, and ascended Independence Monument three times in her bare feet. She also spent summers on Leach's cattle ranch in Pinon Mesa, where she had several encounters with wolverines, mountain lions, and other wildlife.

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