People

: Wendell F. Hutchinson; Local vet and member of the one of the pioneering families of Chaffee County.

: Wendell Phillips Ela; Early pioneer of Glade Park area and mayor of Grand Junction, Colorado from 1897-90. He was born in New Hampshire to Jacob Hart Ela and Abigail Pearson (Kelley) Ela. His mother’s name as listed in birth records is Abigail Pearson Moore, indicating that she may have been married once before her marriage to Jacob Ela. Wendell’s father was a printer and publisher, a depot master, the US Representative for New Hampshire’s First Congressional District, and as an auditor in Washington D.C. His mother was a homemaker. The 1850 US Census shows the family living in Rochester, New Hampshire, when Wendell was not yet one year old. In 1870, the Census shows that Wendell was working as a penman, when he was twenty. By 1880, he worked in or perhaps owned a stove and tin store, while still living with his father and younger brother, Charles. He married Lucy Abby Drake in 1881. He came to Mesa County as a representative for the Palisade Cattle Company in 1883, following Charles, who had come in 1881 to the Little Dolores River area. Wendell's wife and daughter arrived in 1884. The 1885 Colorado State Census shows him living in Mesa County, Colorado and working as a stockman. With John Frank Sleeper, he came to own the 2-V Ranch on Glade Park (also known as the VV Ranch) on the Little Dolores River on Glade Park. According to the 1957 Jubilee edition of the Daily Sentinel, he summered his cows near the George Gordon Ranch and wintered them near Miracle Rock on Glade Park. He had moved to Grand Junction by at least 1895, when a home was built for his family at 1006 Main Street. He was elected Mayor of the town in 1897 and held the position until 1900. In this position, he was known as someone who built coalitions between parties in order to establish municipal water control and to develop sources of mountain water for the town. When he left office he was presented with a pearl-handled, silver-engraved six shooter. He then served as president of the US Bank of Grand Junction for several years. He also had mining claims on deposits of quartz in Unaweep Canyon. He was a member of the Grand Junction Camera Club. He died of his fifth bout with Pneumonia in 1929. He is buried in the Masonic portion of the Orchard Mesa Cemetery.

: Wendy (Wren) Moreau

: Wendy Beukelman; Contributor to "Community/Common Unity: A Gunnison Valley Journal," (source: Community/Common Unity: A Gunnison Valley Journal)

: Wendy Fritzlan; A volunteer with the Mesa County Oral History Project.

: Wendy Hill; Born in Klamath Falls, Oregon (born at home in a log cabin and weighed on a fish scale). Arrived in Vail: August, 1982. Occupation: Special Education Teacher. Special Interests: quilting, sewing, hiking, backpacking, cooking, traveling.