WALLACE M. GINN FAMILY PAPERS

This collection covers several generations of the Ginn and Marchant families. Carl Ginn was born in Los Angeles, California, on November 20, 1900, to Roscoe Lincoln Ginn (1866-1953) and Susie Kyle (1871-1908). Roscoe was the son of Gilpin County, Colorado, Probate Judge John M. Ginn (1837-1906). After Carl’s birth, Roscoe worked as a golf course manager on Santa Catalina Island, California. The family then moved to Oakland, California, arriving shortly before the 1906 earthquake and fire, where Carl witnessed the destruction of San Francisco from across the San Francisco Bay.

In 1908, the family moved to Denver to improve Roscoe’s health. Roscoe worked as a postman in what is now the Sloan’s Lake neighborhood of Denver. After arriving in Denver, Susie passed away. Roscoe then married Pearl Flemming on September 24, 1910. Carl attended Ashland Elementary and North High School in Denver. His fellow classmate was the future Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir. In 1917, Carl joined the United States Navy, serving aboard the USS Oregon as a Seaman 2nd Class Confirmed. He was assigned to the Hospital Corps, coal passing, deck duty, and as a gun pointer on the forward turret of the ship.

Carl was discharged on August 6, 1919. He returned home and enrolled at the University of Denver, where he graduated in 1925, receiving a Bachelor of Commercial Science with a commercial science teacher certificate. That same year he taught courses at the Barnes School of Commerce. One of his students was Emmie Lou Marchant, whom he married in Douglas County on August 22, 1925.

After their marriage, Carl taught business classes for three years at the original West High School in Denver, Colorado. In 1929, he took an eight year position as the Boys’ Advisor at Morey Junior High. From 1936-1953, he was principal at Smiley Junior High School. That same year, he transferred to Merrill Junior High School where he served as principal until he retired in 1965. At the time of his retirement, he had been employed for nearly 37 years, and had only used one sick day.

Carl also attended summer school at the University of Iowa where, in 1933, he received a Masters degree in Educational Psychology, and later taught for the University of Colorado School of Education. He was a member of St. John's Episcopal Cathedral, Harmony Lodge No. 61, Denver Consistory, and a charter member of VFW Post No. 501. He served on the Executive Council of the Boy Scouts of American for 16 years, the Denver Lions Club for 28 years, and as executive director of the Colorado Diabetes Association for five years. He was distinguished on May 27, 1990, when Golda Meir/Carl Ginn Day was proclaimed by Govenor Roy Romer and former Denver Mayor Federico Peña. He also received the University of Colorado’s Medal for his many contributions to their alumni program. Carl passed away in Denver, on December 3, 1995.

Emmie Lou Marchant was born on May 8, 1904 in Sussex, England, to Thomas and Florence Marchant. At an early age, her parents immigrated to Saskatchewan, Canada. After her mother contracted tuberculosis, the family relocated to Mobile, Alabama. When her only sister, Margaret, contracted tuberculosis, the sisters moved to Denver to improve Margaret’s health. Margaret later married into the Taylor family, owners of the Taylor’s Supper Club on West Colfax in Lakewood, Colorado.

In 1920, Emmie Lou was living in a boarding home in Denver and working as a Dry Goods clerk. She received a certificate of completion in shorthand from the Barnes Commercial School in December, 1924. After her marriage, Emmie Lou was a homemaker and was involved in many different charities, such as the Parent-Teacher Associations at Columbian Elementary, Skinner Junior High School, and for the State of Colorado. She volunteered for the American Red Cross, in area hospitals, and served for three years on the board of directors of the Crippled Children’s Society. During World War II she was a Gray Lady at Fitzsimmons General Hospital. Emmie Lou passed away in Denver in December 1986.

Wallace "Wally" Ginn was born in Denver, Colorado in 1926, the only child of Carl Ginn and Emmie Lou Marchant. Wally attended Columbian Elementary, Skinner Junior High and North High School in Denver, Colorado. For three years Wallace was part of North High School’s ROTC program, participating in night drills that took place in the surrounding neighborhood. A few weeks after graduating from North High School, he joined the United States Army on July 15th, 1944. He spent a year in technical training and in November 1945 was sent to the Pacific Corridor as a replacement soldier for the returning 20th and 13th Air Forces. Most of his military service was spent at Tinian Air Force Base in the Mariana Islands. He was discharged in 1946.

After which, he attended the University of Denver. While there, he joined the Phi Epsilon Phi Fraternity, the campus ROTC, and the Air National Guard. In 1948, he was commissioned an officer and served as an instructor of military administration for six different tours. In 1951, he received a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration.

In 1953, Wally began teaching eighth grade English in the Denver Public Schools system, where he remained for seven years. In 1959, he received a Master of Arts degree in Education from the University of Colorado. He taught at Lakeview Junior High School in Corvallis, Oregon, for one year, and at several United States Air Force bases for 24 years. As part of the Overseas Department of Defense Dependents’ Schools (ODDDS) staff he spent seventeen years in Great Britain and seven in Germany. In 1986, Wally retired from teaching and returned to Denver to care for his aging parents. Afterwards he volunteered with the West High School and North High School alumni programs. As of 2013, Wally resides at the Gardens of Saint Elizabeth.