Finding Fritz, Sr., Day 4

Today started out with our first big breakthrough in connecting with Pop Pop’s history. Even though it was Memorial Day, we headed over to the sheriff’s office to see what we might find. It was closed, but next door was the new county prison, so we started there. After an unsuccessful conversation with a lady on the other side of an intercom, we walked back to the sheriff’s office and peeked through the glass doors. Inside we could see the displays Aaron had learned about in his research, but unfortunately, they were just beyond our reach. To one side we saw some offices through the plate glass windows, and then noticed a young lady working on a computer. We sent Dad over, as the one most likely to be taken seriously, and he spoke to her through the plate glass and explained our predicament. Motioning to us to wait, she disappeared inside the building for a few minutes. Then we heard the front doors opening, where Rebecca, the Undersheriff (Chief Deputy), welcomed us into the lobby. We were extremely grateful for their dedication to be working on a holiday, and their graciousness in letting us in.

The displays included an iron door from an earlier jail, and we wondered if Pop Pop had seen it during his visit to Grand Junction:
June 3, 1922: Arrived at Grand Junction at 3.00 A.M. We went to the jail there for a place to sleep.

June 4th, 1922: Left the jail and walked around the town till the sheriff chased us out of it. We couldn’t even get breakfast. Ray and I hid in a box car all day. At noon I went shooting stumps. Got brave and went into the town and grubbed an apple pie from a baker. This is what we had for our Sunday dinner that day. That night at about 6.00 we went out for grub again. I went one way and Ray went another. I don’t know how Ray made out but I sure struck a good joint. Had to eat it there so I couldn’t bring any thing with me. Ray said he got something.

As we discussed my grandfather’s experiences in Grand Junction with the Undersheriff and her associate, we had a welcome surprise: she told us to come and look at the photo gallery of former sheriffs. The photos included dates of service, so we easily found Frank N. DuCray, the sheriff in 1922, who both hosted Pop Pop, and then chased him out of town. Even though it was only a photo, it was like finding a small puzzle piece in the reconstruction of our family history. What’s more, Rebecca offered to look into some old records in the sheriff’s office, to see if my grandpa’s visit was documented in any way.

After a few more minutes of chatting with our new friends, we headed off to explore the location of the former jail, and also the now-restored train station. We were anxious to hit the road, since we were hoping to see several national parks in the next day and a half. At the station, we saw some backpackers, and asked for their advice which parks to see (answer: all!).

Heading out of town, we read about Pop Pop’s departure from Grand Junction:
June 4, 1922 (cont.): There were now about ten fellows waiting for the train. It’s funny the way they break up. They come into a town about 20 strong then you won’t see any of them till train time. Some of these fellows surprised me. Well-educated and riding trains in hobo style. Most of them have trades and jump from town to town. Others are just plain bums. Lots of cow punchers and sheep herders ride the trains when they want to come to town. We rode with quite a few. Well, we had to wait till 1.15 A.M. before we could take a train. Rode it blind {between two cars} to Helper, Utah. It sure was cold when we started but we were going downgrade.

As we read Pop Pop’s description of hobo life, I began to appreciate his little diary as more than just a personal story, but a valuable historical document of a bygone era.

However, for the rest of the day, we put his diary on hold: we were in an area with at least 3 National Parks, connected by areas almost as spectacular as the parks themselves. So we started at the closest, the Colorado National Monument, and then drove through the dramatically beautiful Colorado River valley to Canyonlands National Park. These are both about 200 miles upstream from the Grand Canyon, and share many similarities with it in terms of scenery. We ended the day with the sunset over Grand View Point Overlook in Canyonlands, and then returned in our RV to “Horsethief Campground.”