Who Was Grand Junction Colorado’s Photographer Robert Grant?

Black and white photos of Grand Junction and the surrounding area have continued to resurface over the last few years. These images come from late Daily Sentinel photographer Robert Grant. Who was Bob Grant?

You've probably seen photo galleries from Grand Junction of the 1940s, 50s, 60s, 70s, and in a few cases the 80s, featuring images of parades, law enforcement, extreme Colorado weather, sports, or people simply enjoying their lives. Here's a little background info about the photographer.

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Who Was Grand Junction Photographer Robert Grant?

From the late 1930s to the mid-1980s, Robert Grant, or simply Bob, was the photographer at the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel. He took a four-year hiatus from the Daily Sentinel from 1941 to 1945 to serve in the United States Army during World War II. In addition to serving as a soldier, Bob also photographed for the Army and worked with a group of cartographers in India and China (and for a little while Australia.)

Where was Bob Grant Born?

This is a bit tricky. Robert Eugene Grant was born in May 1923 in what was at that time referred to as Bridges Switch, Colorado. His birth certificate specifies a house in Bridges Switch as his birthplace. There's a reason why you've never heard of that town. Depending on how you look at it, the community never officially existed.

Bridges Switch refers to the part of the Grand Valley just east of Clifton, right off the old highway between Clifton and Palisade. You are probably familiar with the overpass just east of Clifton. The house where Bob was born was off to the side of that overpass.

When Bob Grant died in November 2000, the funeral home encountered difficulties tracking down the existence of a community known as Bridges Switch. When writing up Bob's death certificate, they changed his birthplace to Clifton, Colorado.

Bob Grant's Personal Life

Bob's parents were James and Kathryn Grant of Clifton. Both served with the United States Postal Service.

As a child, Bob contracted a childhood disease leaving him with severely compromised eyesight. From his time as a little boy until his death, he wore Coke-bottle glasses with the thickest lenses you could imagine.

Eventually, he landed a job with the Daily Sentinel as an engraver. Ultimately, before leaving for World War II, he worked his way up to the photographer. Upon being discharged from the Army he came straight back to Grand Junction and went back to work at the Sentinel the very next day.

He later met and married Dorothy M. Clark, whom he remained married to until his death on November 15, 2000. Shortly after marrying Dorothy, Bob adopted her two-year-old daughter, Gloria.

Bob Grant would remain with the Daily Sentinel until his retirement in the mid-1980s. He rarely took photographs after his retirement.

Why Are These Photographs Resurfacing Now?

Bob Grant passed away at his home on Little Park Road in Grand Junction from a heart attack on November 15, 2000. Bob had only two grandchildren, Happy Jordan of Grand Junction and myself. His collection of photographs and negatives, enough to fill a room top to bottom, along with his cameras and equipment, went to me.

For the next 19 years Bob's son-in-law and my dad, Arlie, worked endlessly to digitize and catalog the images. When my dad passed away two years ago, I continued the effort.

Something of an Agenda

More than anything, I want to get the images out there. They do no good sitting in boxes and file cabinets. As you can imagine, though, this takes a tremendous amount of time. Regrettably, most of the prints are accompanied by little or no information. Where negatives are concerned, if I'm really lucky, there might be a year written down on the negative's sleeve. That's more of an exception than the norm.

My guess is I'll be spending the rest of my life digitizing and circulating the photos. It's fun and very rewarding. With that in mind, in no particular order and with no particular topic, here are a few hundred Robert Grant photos, almost all of which were taken in the Grand Junction area, for you to enjoy. Like always with Bob's photos, keep a sharp lookout for someone you may recognize.