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 Robert E. Denfeld Oh, we love the halls of Denfeld That sorround us here today. And we shall not forget, Though we be near or far away. To the hallowed halls of Denfeld, Every voice will bid farewell, And shimmer off in twilight, Like the old tower bell. One day a hush will fall, The footsteps of us all, Will echo through the hall and disappear. But as we sadly start, Our journeys far apart, A part of every heart will linger here. In the sacred halls of Denfeld, Where we lived and learned to know That through the years we'll see you In the sweet afterglow.  Oh when those fighting Hunters fall in line, We're gonna win this game another time! And for the Denfeld High School we will yell; And for the team, team, team, We'll yell, we'll yell, we'll yell! We're gonna fight, fight, fight for every score, And when we make those touchdowns we will roar! We're gonna throw old (Central) on the ground, all around! Fight, fight, fight!  Duluth had just opened it’s only high school in 1892 (Central) when the growing West Duluth built Irving elementary. In 1904, Mr. Scott Foster became principal of Irving Elementary and he strongly urged a high school to be opened the following year at that same site called the Duluth Industrial High School to house students in grades 9-12. He succeeded. The first ninth grade Class of 1905 would be our first graduating class in 1909 with 16 graduates. Part of the reason why the class was so small was that West Duluth and the city were skeptical that the school was fully accredited to send students to college (it was) and whether the new effort could compete with the established Central (it did). By 1909, the freshman class had 54 students and Mrs. Mary Wassen, DIHS ’09, said she “took every subject I could because you never know when you’re older than what you’ll need”. Almost 100 years later, it’s still good advice. The new Robert E. Denfeld High School opened (the old West Jr. or today’s MacArthur West) in the fall of 1915 with about 150 in the senior high, and the need to build the present Denfeld arose by its opening in 1926 because of a high school population of 850. The current Denfeld High School opened in September 1926 with plans for 2500 students while situating the building so sunlight is obtainable in all rooms. The Pfeffer Construction Company was the general contractor and Holmstead & Sullivan the architects who patterned the school after Harvard and Oxford. It cost $1,250,000 to build including a $25,000 auditorium which seats nearly 2000 and can accommodate 200 people on stage. It was planned for community use which is why it is located on the corner of 44th Avenue West & 4th Street so people wouldn’t have to pass through the school to attend shows. The 120 foot clock tower is the most prominent feature of the building and one that instantly evokes the school to the student. The principal (James Taylor) wanted a swimming pool but, the architects wanted to keep the trend of the day building a tower on schools. The towers eight buttresses stand for the eight types of human beings; masters, rulers, philanthropists, scientists, magicians, devotees, philosophers and artists. The clock face was designed by Mr. Carl Shroer, a teacher at Central, to look like a wristwatch and then finished by Denfeld machine shop students in 1926 by welding the sections together. The Duluth Brassworks Company cast the four aluminum sections. The numerals were painted silver and the hands of wood were painted gold. However, it was impossible to read from Grand Avenue so the face was repainted black and has remained so to this day. According to a 1976 Duluth News-Tribune article, a time capsule was built inside of Denfeld! It spoke of the construction of the school when there was a “parade pf people who gathered at the corner of 44th & 6th to watch it’s sealing”. It is believed to be behind the Grand Mason cornerstone plaque located there. According to the same article, it contains a maroon and gold “D”, a list of all students (at that time), various lodge papers and a Bible. The article concluded; “After World War III, people will name their kids after lodge members and the nations colors will be maroon and gold because this vault will be the only thing that is left.” SOURCE: Come Back Home; A History of Denfeld High School by Joe Vukelich (1995). Use of information by permission from author. Edited for space. 
 Denfeld in 1923 on Central Avenue  Denfeld in 1923 on Central Avenue On the evening of June 14, 1927, the Denfeld Municipal Pipe Organ was dedicated and heard for the first time by the public spirited residents and merchants of duluth who had generously sponsored and provided funds for the installation of this wonderful instrument in one of the most beautiful and most unique school auditoriums in the country. The organ was removed from St. Paul's Capitol Theatre and re-installed at Denfeld, a task which took five months to complete. The organ is a 36 rank Kilgen & Sons instrument, installed by the Wurlitzer Pipe Organ Company and is complete with drums, bells, and xylophones, and has a total of almost 2,000 organ pipes! The pipes range in size from 3 inches to 16 feet long. Some of the pipes are made of wood and some of a lead/tin or zinc alloy. The organ is supplied with air by a huge blower driven by a 16 horsepower motor. Both are located in a room under the stage. Surprisingly, the organ is owned by the citizens of Duluth, and not owned by the Duluth School district. SOURCE: Denfeld Pipes & Pumpkin Concert Bulletin, October 1992. Mrs. Ballentine (Daughter of Robert Frost) Johnny Cash (Singer) Kim Hill (Singer) Liberace Richard Nixon (U.S. President) Dave Roever (Speaker/Columnist/Minister) John Phillips Souza Jesse Ventura (Governor/Actor) 4HIM (Music Group) 
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