Despite the economic depression of the 1930s, peach production remained fairly profitable. Palisade was the major peach orchard zone, but the Redlands and Bridgeport also had extensive production. Fruit picking sacks, with a bottom which opened easily for emptying, were invented in Palisade by Nancy Brown. The Mountain Lion Fruit label adorned millions of boxes. Wooden baskets also were used widely.
There were many pear orchards as well, chiefly around Clifton.

The 1930s
 

Walter Walker was editor and publisher of the Grand Junction DAILY SENTINEL from 1917 to 1956. He was an ardent supporter of every advance in Grand Junction and western Colorado. A force in politics, he was appointed by the governor to the United States Senate in 1932 to fill out the term of the late Senator Waterman. On the national level, Walker was a member of the committee which wrote the 1932 Democratic platform called the New Deal by Franklin Roosevelt. Walker was a delegate to eight consecutive national conventions, a state record.
(The Daily Sentinel)

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Radio was expanding rapidly across the nation. Grand Junction�s first station was on the air January 13, l931 as Rex Howell established KFXJ, which later became KREX. It was the first station of a radio and TV network called the Western Slope Broadcasting. Company. His television station was the first in town in 1954. In the following decades other broadcasters established several radio and television stations here, as well as cable TV.
(The Daily Sentinel)

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The City Market chain was started by the Prinster brothers with one small grocery store in Grand Junction in the 1920s. Grocery stores typically were not large. Supermarkets with wide selections and lower prices were an idea of the l930s. City Market opened the first of their many supermarkets at 4th and Rood in 1939.
(City Market Photo)

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Farmers needed seeds for their many crops, and the Grand Junction Seed Company with its Mile High Seed brand was a main supplier. The Grand Valley is superior for various crops. Red clover is an example, and the seed company would contract with farmers to grow clover for tons of seeds which were sold locally as well as nationally. They exported and imported a wide variety of seeds, including flower seeds and bulbs.
(Dean Photo)

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The Grand Junction Municipal Airport was on 700 acres where the larger current airport is located. It was dedicated June 14-15, l930. The first runways were unpaved. There was one hanger with a windsock, and planes including an Eagle Rock Biplane (pictured). In 1942 the airport was named Walker Field for the newspaper publisher who was a strong backer. During World War II, hundreds of Army and Navy cadets received basic flight training at Walker Field.
(Dean Photo, Walker Field Airport Authority)

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Alfred Nestler (pictured) was a noted local artist, and he was proficient in many themes and techniques. The Western Colorado Center for the Arts has a Nestler collection. Harold Bryant was another local artist with a national reputation. A large collection of his paintings also is held by the arts center. Bryant�s canvasses had western locales, and in the 1930s he was at his apex. 
(Allen Wesley Photo)

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RECREATION

Copeco was a large pear and apple orchard owned by Earl Craven and partners. There was a club house for employees, and the spacious fruit packing building had a hardwood floor which also served for dances. Beginning in the 1930s a commercial dance hall, called Copeco, occupied the building. Dancing was popular, with a dozen ballrooms in the valley.

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