Denver North Viking Class of 1944

Wally Ginn Aka Mr Viking, Wally was an educator, full of knowledge, respect and love for mankind. He was a mentor and friend to many and served as the President of the North High Alumni Association. Wally's father, Carl Ginn, Class of 1917, was also an educator and DPS school administrator. The North High "Ginn Family" Library is named for this remarkable legacy of educators.

Wally was instrumental in reviving the Denver North High School Alumni Association, and he was also instrumental in helping found the North Side High School Alumni Scholarship Fund. Today the fund has an endowment of over $800,000 and over 25 scholarships are awarded to graduating North High seniors each year.

Gym Teaher at North- 1964-Early 2000's

DPS employee-1964-Present

Peggy Holder started her career with Denver Public Schools in 1964 as a gym teacher, but she was also the girls volleyball coach for North starting in the early 70’s. Thanks to Holder North High Athletics started girl sports again, Denver public schools didn't have many female sports so in the 1960's Ms Holder started Spartans of Sports at North High School. During Peggy's time at North High School she's coached Volleyball, Track and Field, Cross Country and Girls Basketball. She is most famous for the winning 12 Denver Prep League titles in 15 years with the Girl Volleyball team. Peggy is one of the most notable teachers to work at North, she is also one of the most recognized teachers. Today after more than 50 years with DPS she is still an employee, Peggy is a restorative justice at Bear Valley International School in Southwest Denver. She continues to help kids to this day further there education and help fight for there education rights.

Thank you Peggy Holder

"In February 1913, Golda Meir, ran away from her parents home in Milwaukee and came to live with the Korngolds. She [Golda] attended North High School for two years."

The Auraria Campus website reports:

"The only remaining U.S. residence of former Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir, a Denver landmark, serves as a museum, conference center, and the Metropolitan State College of Denver Golda Meir Center for Political Leadership.

In 1913, Golda ran away from her parents’ home in Milwaukee to continue her education in Denver. She joined her sister Sheyna, a recovering consumptive, her brother-in-law Sam Korngold and their daughter Judith in a small duplex on Denver’s Jewish west side. During this time, she worked at her brother-in-law’s laundry, attended classes at North High School, and gained a deeper knowledge of Zionist philosophy that stressed the need for a Jewish homeland. As she said in her autobiography, "It was in Denver that my real education began."

The Golda Meir House was restored with the assistance of private contributors and the Colorado State Historical Fund. Please visit her web info. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golda_Meir

She knew hardship. A challenging family situation. Heartache. No money. And doubt in and around her through her teenage years.

But well before she died May 20 at age 42 of pancreatic cancer, former Denver Prep League basketball star Jennifer Nuanes went ahead and had a wonderful life, one that may leave an indelible mark on city kids.

“She really did,” said Earl Wylder, soon to be 83 and still practicing law. “She was decorated and highly thought of.”

Wylder would know. Having developed strong values while playing for legendary basketball coach Ray Meyer at DePaul, Wylder has helped Denver kids for decades.

Nuanes will always be one of Wylder’s favorites.

“She was just delightful,” he said.

Nuanes (pronounced NEW-on-us) began at Manual, finished at Denver North (won the 1988 City Chmpionship for North) and made it to the University of Michigan before working in the field of criminology. Along the way, she touched an array of local lives.

“Oh, my goodness, they don’t come any better than her,” said Denver East boys basketball coach Rudy Carey, who knew Nuanes when he was coaching at Manual in the 1980s. “She was great academically and so personable. I never saw a day that she wasn’t smiling.”

Nuanes was “5-foot-6 and petite,” said Chris Lucero, who had Nuanes come live with her while in high school with the blessing of her father, Bill Sr. Nuanes’ mother was never really in the picture.

-Denver Post

Virgil Milton Jester was a Major League Baseball pitcher. Jester signed as a free agent in 1947 with the Boston Braves. He would play at the Major League level with the team in 1952 and remained with the team through its move to Milwaukee, Wisconsin to become the Milwaukee Braves.Wikipedia

Born: July 23, 1927, Denver, CO

Died: February 15, 2016, Denver, CO

Education: North High School, University of Northern Colorado

Denver radio station KFEL in 1923. By 1929, he was working at KFI, and shortly afterwards for Don Lee at KHJ, in Los Angeles. In a 1978 appearance on Tomorrow with Tom Snyder, Wilson claimed he was fired from KHJ because he had bought a Packard from Earle C. Anthony, the business arch-rival of Cadillac dealer Don Lee and owner of KFI and KECA.[2]

Though best known for his comedy work with Benny, Wilson had a background as a sportscaster, covering the opening of the 1932 Summer Olympics. Don appeared in two Broadway shows in the 1930s, "The Passionate Pilgrim", which opened October 19, 1932, and "The First Legion", which opened October 1, 1934. Wilson first worked with Benny on the broadcast of April 6, 1934, concurrent with a short stint as announcer on George Gershwin's series, Music by Gershwin. At 6 feet (1.83 m) and 300 pounds (140 kg), Wilson possessed a resonant voice, a deep belly laugh, and a plump figure, all of which would become important parts of his character with Benny. Though Wilson's primary function as announcer was to read the opening and the commercial pitches — notably for Jell-O, Grape-Nuts, and Lucky Strike — his importance to the program was as both feed and foil to Jack and other cast members. A recurring goal was his effort to get the Sportsmen Quartet singing commercials approved by Benny.

Wilson rarely flubbed his lines. His most famous incident occurred on the January 8, 1950 broadcast. The script called for him to refer to columnist Drew Pearson, but Wilson read the name as "Dreer Pooson." Later on in the broadcast, during a murder-mystery skit, Frank Nelson took advantage of the situation. Benny asked Nelson, "Pardon me, are you the doorman?" and Nelson, in his customary sarcastic manner, came back with: "Well who do you think I am, Dreer Pooson?," to sustained laughter and applause.

Wilson also served stints as announcer for radio comedy or variety shows starring Alan Young,[4] Bing Crosby, Ginny Simms, and Fanny Brice's comedy hit Baby Snooks. In 1946, Don Wilson was a regular on the daytime comedy Glamour Manor, opposite former Jack Benny Program regular Kenny Baker.

Wilson accompanied Benny into television in 1950, remaining with him through the end of the series in 1965. On television, the fat jokes were toned down only slightly, mostly because the real Wilson was not as impossibly large as the radio Wilson was described. These appearances also often involved the fictional character of Don's equally hefty, aspiring announcer son, Harlow (played by Dale White). Wilson co-starred with Benny in Buck Benny Rides Again (1940) and voicing a caricature of himself in The Mouse that Jack Built, a 1959 Warner Brothers spoof of The Jack Benny Program directed by Robert McKimson. Wilson appeared in the Broadway show "Make a Million", which opened on October 23, 1958.[3]

His other film roles included small appearances as announcers or commentators in several films, providing narration for Walt Disney's Academy Award nominated short Ferdinand the Bull, and a credited appearance as Mr. Kettering opposite Marilyn Monroe in Niagara. His role in the film Village Barn Dance was acclaimed by a review that said, "Surprise performance was that of Don Wilson ... who steals the show with his portrayal of a good-humored, grinning radio announcer."[6]

His final on-camera appearance in a series was in two episodes of the 1960s Batman as newscaster Walter Klondike (spoofing Walter Cronkite). Wilson would continue to appear on talk-shows throughout his life whenever a program would salute Jack Benny or talk about old-time radio.

Wilson played football for the University of Colorado in the 20s. For his size he was an excellent sportsman, and was an excellent amateur golfer teaming up with fellow NBC announcer Bud Stevens to win many matches in Southern California. Wilson was married four times. His second wife was Peggy Ann Kent, daughter of 20th Century Fox President Sidney R. Kent. They were married November 19, 1940 and divorced in December, 1942.[7] The same month the divorce was final, Wilson married Polish countess Marusia Radunska. This marriage ended in divorce in 1949.[8] Wilson finally found a lasting partnership with fourth wife, radio actress Lois Corbett (who occasionally appeared as "Mrs. Wilson" on Benny's later radio and TV shows). Together they hosted a local Palm Springs, California television show Town Talk from 1968 until the mid-1970s.[1]

Here is a list of Denver North High School's Most Notible alumni, these people may not be in the Viking Hall of Fame but they went on to doing something notable.

http://north.dpsk12.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Alumni-Prove-a-Century-of-Excellence.pdf