"Who was your first crush?"

Mesa County

Fred Schwartz - Grand Junction 

“Marian Hoffman. Her family lived next door. Our mothers were best friends and they often put us in the playpen together. Then, when we got a little older, Marian and I walked to school together. She was a sweet girl and a good friend.”

Susan Smith - Grand Junction

“My first crush was when I was in the second grade. I don’t remember his name, but he kissed me on my head at recess after I got hit by a ball. He definitely took the pain away!”

Jim Moe - Grand Junction

“I grew up in a small South Dakota town of just 500 people and had a crush on a classmate in first grade named Marsha. Although she still lives in South Dakota, we continue to be friends to this day via Facebook and Christmas cards.”

Nancy Barrington - Telluride

“My first crush was a nice boy a year older than me—I was in the 10th grade. I asked him to the Sadie Hawkins dance and can understand how scary it is for a guy to approach a girl and ask her out. Turns out my ‘crush’ had already been asked by a different girl, so we never ended up going out.”

Montrose-Delta Counties

Diana Herrera - Montrose

“In 1962, the song ‘Norman’ came out. I was in the seventh grade and had the biggest crush on Norman and wrote his name on the side of my catechism book—still have it, too! I would sing that song all the time. Now when I hear that song, I just smile and remember Norman.”

Gary Tracy - Montrose

“I remember sweet Mary. She kissed me on the school bus when we were in the second grade. I was so sad when she and her family moved away.”

Gene Lillard - Olathe

“When I was in Cedaredge Elementary, I had a crush on one of my classmates. She was a skinny rancher’s daughter who had braces on her teeth and wore funny glasses. We went on to become high school sweethearts. Years later, I put a ring on Deb’s finger and we’ve been happily married for 45 years.”

Laura Morris - Delta

“My very first crush was on Matt Ketchum in the third grade. He gave me a cute little bear claw ring with turquoise in it. One day, during recess, he was chasing me and grabbed my foot. I fell down and sprained my left arm really badly. I was so upset that I flushed his ring down the toilet!”