Elaine Safe Oral History

Collection — Library I drive: OH520

Identifier: OH520

Staff Only

Content Description

Elaine (Epley) Safe discusses her family's history in Colo. Her great-grand father, John Johnson Epley (May 11, 1836-May 5, 1898) was born in Ohio and moved to Denver in 1872. He owned brick companies and glass works in West Denver and silver smelters in Silverton and Durango. John Johnson Epley married Armenia Elizabeth Woolley (May 26, 1844-May 10, 1914) and built a mansion on 2839 Howard Place a.k.a. "Brick Road." Safe's grandfather, Paul Timothy Epley (1848-1978) was born in Denver and worked in the brick industry and was also a fireman. He married Bertha Gertrude Seipp (1879-1966) and had nine children. Three of the sons, John J. Epley (1898-1976), Jay Epley (1912-1975) and Elaine Safe's father, Walter Epley (1909-1990) were involved in golden gloves boxing. Watler Richard Epley married Marguerite Josephine Halverson (1911-1998) in 1935. Both attended West High School in Denver. Walter owned the Western Paper Company once located at 1816 Market Street and worked in an ammunition plant as a policeman during WWII. Elaine Safe recalls growing up in Denver during the war years, shopping in downtown Denver, working at Elitches, taking dance lessons with Lillian Covillo, participating in fashion shows at the Molly Brown House and raising her family.

Dates

August 23, 2019

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open for research.

Copyright

All requests for permission to publish, reproduce, or quote from material in the collection should be discussed with the appropriate librarian or archivist. Permission for publication may be given on behalf of the Denver Public Library as the owner of the physical item. It is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which also must be obtained by the customer. The Library does not assume any responsibility for infringement of copyright or publication rights of the manuscript held by the writer, heirs, donors, or executors. Reproduction restrictions are decided on a case-by-case basis.

Biographical / Historical

Elaine Epley Safe was born in 1937 in Denver, Colorado to parents: Walter Epley and Marguerite Halverson. She was the oldest of five siblings. Elaine Epley lived in a bungalow on South Downing Street and attended East High School. After graduating in 1955, she attended Colorado State University for one year. She married in 1956 and had three children. In 1968, she married Paul Safe and had one child. In 2020, she resides in Highlands Ranch, Colorado.