�Aspinall for Congress� automobile tags were common in Grand Junction during elections. Wayne Aspinall could always count on solid support in Mesa County. Geiger counters measure the radioactivity of uranium. Many Geiger counters were manufactured in Grand Junction during the uranium boom.  Brownie cameras were inexpensive, simple to operate, and a favorite.            

The 1950s
  

During the 1950s, the turbulence of the Great Depression, World War II and Korean War were succeeded by a nation focused on the pursuits of peacetime. Grand Junction also thrived, and the uranium industry was an added stimulus. Population in 1950 was 14,504, a 16.2 percent growth through the 1940s.
 
 

 

 PEOPLE

Wayne Aspinall was the U.S. Congressman from this District from 1949 to 1973, becoming chairman of the powerful House Interior and Insular Affairs Committee in 1959. Serving until 1973, he was chairman in this important post longer than any other congressman. Dams, reclamation, mining and forestry are crucial to the West, and he was vigilant in promoting those interests. A masterful legislator, he managed over 1,000 bills in the House, and every one passed.

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 COMMUNITY

Uranium mining and milling became a large industry on the Colorado Plateau. The Grand Junction Operations Office of the United States Atomic Energy Commission was headquarters for the enterprise, and bought all the uranium produced. Grand Junction also was home base for as many as 35 mining companies, including area offices of major mining corporations.
(The Daily Sentinel, U.S. Department of Energy)

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BUSINESS

Wholesale firms in Grand Junction supplied businesses in Western Colorado and Eastern Utah. In Colorado, the wholesale businesses in Grand Junction were second only to Denver. The wholesalers flourished, especially in the booming 1950s. Biggs-Kurtz Hardware dealt in all lines of light and heavy hardware. The Independent Lumber Company had 19 lumber yards regionally, and was both wholesale and retail. The C. D. Smith Drug Co. had both drug and chemical divisions. Other wholesalers provided groceries, paper, dairy products and petroleum, to name a few.
(Midwest Photo)

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  EDUCATION

The expanding student population of Grand Junction prompted the building of a new high school in 1955 on North 5th Street. It was designed in a clean lined, modern 1950s style by architect Paul Atchison of Denver. The auditorium was made large enough to serve also as a civic auditorium.
(1958 Grand Junction High School Annual)

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 AGRICULTURE

Fruit from the Grand Valley continued its reputation for top quality. The peach orchards produced record crops at good prices. There were 900,000 trees and more than 800 orchards. However, pear and apple orchards continued to be replaced by general farming, and subdivisions continued to encroach on prime agricultural lands.

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TRANSPORTATION

Railroads were vying with aggressive airlines for passenger business. Interstate highways also made long distance driving more convenient. Streamlined luxury trains were the railroads� answer. The Denver and Rio Grande had the sleek California Zephyr with Vista Dome cars, gleaming in stainless steel. It ran from Chicago to San Francisco via Grand Junction.
(Warren Kiefer Photo)

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CULTURE

Artist groups had long planned for an arts center. The Western Colorado Center for the Arts dates from 1953 when the Mesa County Arts Center Board was incorporated. They bought a building near 7th and Orchard (pictured), and opened it in 1960. A hexagonal building was added in 1970, and there have been further additions. By the 1990s art instruction and exhibits in the galleries were provided year around, and the auditorium hosted music, drama and dance.
(Frank Bering Photo)

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RECREATION

The National Junior College Baseball Tourney, nicknamed JUCO, moved here in 1958. It has wide local support. The top ten junior college teams from across the nation come here to compete to be number one. In the spring, JUCO guarantees a rousing series of games which fill the stadium with avid sports fans. This is at Suplizio Field in Lincoln Park.

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