%1 http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/ en Emily Griffith http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/emily-griffith <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Emily Griffith</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--uid--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--uid.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--uid.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'username' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> <span lang="" about="/users/yongli" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">yongli</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--created--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--created.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'time' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> <time datetime="2020-07-07T15:54:19-06:00" title="Tuesday, July 7, 2020 - 15:54" class="datetime">Tue, 07/07/2020 - 15:54</time> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'addtoany_standard' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * addtoany-standard--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * addtoany-standard--node.html.twig x addtoany-standard.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <span class="a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 addtoany_list" data-a2a-url="http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/emily-griffith" data-a2a-title="Emily Griffith"><a class="a2a_dd addtoany_share" href="https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Fcoloradoencyclopedia.org%2Farticle%2Femily-griffith&amp;title=Emily%20Griffith"></a><a class="a2a_button_facebook"></a><a class="a2a_button_twitter"></a><a class="a2a_button_email"></a></span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--body.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-body"><p>Emily Griffith (1868–1947) was a visionary educator in the field of adult, vocational, and alternative education. After working as a teacher and administrator in <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/denver"><strong>Denver</strong></a>, she started the Denver Opportunity School in 1916, premised on the idea that education should be accessible to everyone regardless of age, race, or gender. The school, funded by <strong>Denver Public Schools</strong>, was free and open to “all who wished to learn.” The first institution of its kind in the nation, the school and its philosophy established Denver as a leader in adult education in America.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Early Years</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Emily Griffith was born on February 10, 1868, in Cincinnati, Ohio, the second of four children born to Andrew and Martha Griffith. Her father was an unsuccessful lawyer, and the family struggled financially. Her parents and siblings were often sick, so she left school after the eighth grade to take care of her family. Her sister Florence was developmentally disabled, and the sisters developed a strong bond that would last their entire lives.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The family left Ohio to <a href="/article/homestead"><strong>homestead</strong></a> in Nebraska when Griffith was sixteen. Her father was unable to support the family, so Emily found work as a teacher in a one-room sod schoolhouse. Living with families in the community, she found that many of the adults had limited opportunities for education. She came to believe that access to education could lift people out of poverty.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Move to Denver</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>In 1894 the family moved to Denver, where Griffith applied to teach in the local school system. After a decade in Denver classrooms, she was promoted in 1904 to be the deputy state superintendent of schools, helping to oversee schools throughout the state. In 1908 she returned to the classroom as an eighth-grade teacher at the Twenty-Fourth Street School in Denver’s <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/five-points"><strong>Five Points</strong></a> neighborhood. The neighborhood was home to African Americans and immigrants whose lack of education and opportunity often left them in poverty. Many of Griffith’s young students had to work to support their families, as she had at their age. A compassionate teacher, Griffith became involved in the lives of her students and their families, and she began to offer basic literacy lessons to adults in the neighborhood.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>From 1910 to 1912, Griffith served the state of Colorado as deputy state superintendent of instruction before returning to the Twenty-Fourth Street School as an administrator and teacher. She also continued to teach adult classes at night, after the children had left the building. Her classes were well attended and spoke to the need for education in the broader community. Other attempts at adult and vocational education in Denver at this time consisted mainly of English-language and citizenship classes aimed at immigrants and job training in high schools. Griffith started to believe that a new kind of school could serve the needs of adults.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Throughout this period, Griffith lived in Congress Park with her parents and her sister Florence. Her income supported the family. She had a variety of suitors and even, at one point, a fiancé, though she called off the engagement when the man insisted that she quit teaching and said he would not allow Florence to live with them after they married.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Starting Opportunity School</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Griffith dreamed of starting a free school where people of all ages could attend classes with flexible hours and personalized instruction. She believed that offering training and skills would enable people to get better jobs and enrich society as well as their own lives. She even had a name for the school: Opportunity. Her ideas seem to have derived primarily from her own experience, but they took part in a larger wave of <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/progressive-era-colorado"><strong>Progressive</strong></a>-era educational reforms that included incorporating immigrants into American society (Jane Addams) and offering greater opportunities for experiential education (John Dewey).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Griffith used her connections in the community and around the state to campaign for funding for her proposed school, speaking to business leaders, “society women,” educators, and others about the school. Newspaperwoman <strong>Frances “Pinky” Wayne</strong> became a powerful ally and supporter who introduced the idea to the public.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Griffith presented her idea to the Denver Board of Education on May 11, 1916. The board endorsed Opportunity School, which would open that fall at the condemned Longfellow School at Thirteenth Avenue and Welton Street. Griffith and her staff of five teachers worked all summer to prepare. On September 9, Opportunity School opened its doors. Griffith hoped that 200 students would register for classes, but 1,400 students enrolled the first week. Griffith pulled a desk into the front hall and welcomed every student who entered. The school’s motto was posted on the building: “For All Who Wish to Learn.” The motto was inspired by Griffith’s uncle, who spent his evenings teaching his neighbors to read.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Opportunity School was open thirteen hours a day, five days a week, allowing students to attend free, walk-in classes as their schedules permitted. Some classes taught specific job skills such as millinery, telegraphy, typewriting, sewing, and carpentry. Other classes taught academic subjects such as reading, writing, math, and English. Griffith added new skills and subjects based on what students wanted to learn. Inspirational quotes such as “You Can Do It” and “We Do Not Believe in Failure” were placed around the building, and teachers were ordered to be positive with each student. During the school’s first year, 2,398 students attended, and the staff grew from 5 to 38 teachers.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>When a student fainted from hunger one day, Griffith recognized a new need. Her mother made a pot of soup, which her sister Florence served in the school’s basement. By the end of the year, 200 bowls of soup were served each day. Women’s clubs started to provide the soup, and Florence continued to serve the soup to students for many years.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The school evolved with the times. During <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/colorado-world-war-i"><strong>World War I</strong></a>, it offered classes in airplane mechanics, radio communication, steelworking, nursing, and ambulance driving. Classes were also added in salesmanship, bookkeeping, and advertising, as well as in “beauty work,” such as hairstyling and barbering. Special classrooms for blind and deaf students taught communication and job skills. The school partnered with local businesses and unions to train students for specific jobs and certifications, and it coordinated with the police department, social workers, and charity organizations to provide services for students. By 1931 enrollment had grown to about 10,000 people in 43 classes, with 105 teachers.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Influence and Recognition</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Griffith treated each of her students with respect and interest, insisting that every person had worth and dignity. She counseled students, created courses to meet their needs, visited their homes, helped them get food and clothing, and assisted them when they were in crisis. She wore the fashionable hats created in the school’s millinery classes and hired graduates of the “Housekeeper Assistant” class to plan and serve her dinner parties.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Opportunity School and its philosophy established Denver as a leader in adult education in the United States and around the world. In 1926 the National Education Association invited Griffith to speak at its annual conference. Educators and civic leaders from Baltimore, Cleveland, and other cities across the country visited Opportunity School, looking to start similar schools in their own communities. Opportunity School’s influence also extended overseas, with governments in England, Germany, Greece, and Russia expressing interest in Griffith’s model.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>In addition to her work at Opportunity School, Griffith was concerned about the many young homeless people in Denver. In 1927 she bought a neglected mansion near downtown. With financial help from community organizations, including the Denver Kiwanis Club, she established “A Home for the Boy Who Needs One” at 9 Pearl Street. A rotating group of twelve boys lived there in a home-like atmosphere. The boys were provided a room, meals, and the care of a “house mother” until they could make it on their own. The home evolved and still exists as Griffith Centers for Children.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Griffith was well loved in the Denver community and received many honors and awards during her life. She was elected president of the Colorado Education Association, declared “Colorado’s Most Useful Citizen” by <em>The Denver Post</em>, and became the first woman invited to join the Kiwanis Club of Denver. Despite her eighth-grade education, she received honorary degrees from the Colorado State Teacher’s College (now <strong>University of Northern Colorado</strong>), the <strong>University of Colorado</strong>, and <strong>Colorado Women’s College</strong>.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Retirement Years</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>In 1933 Griffith retired after seventeen years as principal of Opportunity School. She was sixty-five years old. Opportunity School’s name was changed to Emily Griffith Opportunity School to honor her contributions.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Griffith retired to Pinecliffe, a small town near <strong>Nederland</strong> in the hills west of <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/boulder"><strong>Boulder</strong></a>, where she shared a cabin with Florence, who was unable to live by herself. Their sister Ethelyn and brother-in-law had a cabin on neighboring land.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The sisters lived a simple life in the mountains, surviving on Griffith’s standard pension of fifty dollars each month from Denver Public Schools. Initially their primitive cabin did not have indoor plumbing, electricity, or a telephone; Griffith later allowed the Kiwanis Club to install electricity and plumbing.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The sisters enjoyed entertaining old friends at their cabin, hosting Sunday church services and potlucks. Griffith’s friend Fred Lundy, who lived nearby, was a frequent visitor, often stopping in for meals. He helped the sisters around the cabin, chopping wood and running errands for them.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>A Tragic End</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>On June 18, 1947, Emily and Florence Griffith were found murdered on the floor of their cabin, each shot once in the back of the head. The doors of the cabin were locked, and the dinner table was set for three. Fred Lundy was immediately suspected. He had access to the cabin, and his car was parked nearby with a stash of cash in a briefcase. A nationwide search for Lundy turned up empty until his body was found a month later in nearby South Boulder Creek. His death was ruled a suicide by drowning. Speculation about his motive abounded: did he believe the sisters had become a burden, did he kill them because of Griffith’s concerns about dying before her sister, or was he a thwarted suitor in a jealous rage? Others believed Lundy incapable of the murders and suggested that the sisters were killed by relatives for life insurance money or that an unknown killer was on the loose. Lundy’s guilt was never proven, and the crime was never solved.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The deaths of the Griffith sisters shocked the Denver community. Their double funeral was held at <strong>Central Presbyterian Church</strong>, where Emily Griffith had been a member for decades. Flags flew at half-mast, and the Emily Griffith Opportunity School closed for the day. The sisters were cremated and their ashes interred at <strong>Fairmount Cemetery</strong>.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Legacy</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>The Emily Griffith Opportunity School celebrated a century of service to the community in 2016. Now known as Emily Griffith Technical College, the school offers more than 500 courses to thousands of students at its a main campus at 1860 Lincoln Street and two satellite locations. Classes are no longer free, but they remain inexpensive. The sign above the door still reads, “For All Who Wish to Learn.”</p>&#13; &#13; <p>To celebrate Griffith’s contributions to Colorado, a stained-glass portrait of her was installed in the <strong>State Capitol</strong> in 1976. Griffith was inducted into the Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame in 1985. In 2000 Mayor <strong>Wellington Webb</strong> honored her with a Millennium Award for her contributions to the city.</p>&#13; </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-author--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-author.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-author.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-author field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-author"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-author">Author</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-author"><a href="/author/duncan-elizabeth" hreflang="und">Duncan, Elizabeth</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-keyword--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-keyword.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-keyword.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-keyword field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-keyword"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-keyword">Keywords</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/emily-griffith" hreflang="en">Emily Griffith</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/opportunity-school" hreflang="en">Opportunity School</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/emily-griffith-technical-college" hreflang="en">Emily Griffith Technical College</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'links__node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * links--node.html.twig x links--inline.html.twig * links--node.html.twig * links.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-references-html--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-references-html.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-references-html.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-references-html field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-references-html"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-references-html">References</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-references-html"><p>Elinor Bluemel, <em>Opportunity School and Emily Griffith, Its Founder</em> (Denver: Green Mountain Press, 1970).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Debra Faulkner, <em>Touching Tomorrow: The Emily Griffith Story</em> (Palmer Lake, CO: Filter Press, 2005).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>“<a href="https://www.historycolorado.org/sites/default/files/media/documents/2017/emily_griffith.pdf">Emily Griffith</a>,” History Colorado, n.d.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>“<a href="https://history.denverlibrary.org/colorado-biographies/emily-griffith-1868-1947">Emily Griffith (1868–1947)</a>,” Denver Public Library, n.d.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Joyce B. Lohse, <em>Emily Griffith: Opportunity’s Teacher</em> (Palmer Lake, CO: Filter Press, 2005).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Emily C. Post, <em>Emily Griffith: Opportunity for All </em>(Palmer Lake, CO: Filter Press, 2013).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Jeanne Varnell, <em>Women of Consequence: The Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame</em> (Boulder: Johnson Books, 1999).</p>&#13; </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-additional-information-htm--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-additional-information-htm field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-additional-information-htm">Additional Information</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"><p>Gail M. Beaton, <em>Colorado Women: A History</em> (Boulder: University Press of Colorado, 2012).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Phyllis J. Perry, <em>Bold Women in Colorado History</em> (Missoula, MT: Mountain Press, 2010).</p>&#13; </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-teacher-resources--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-teacher-resources.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-teacher-resources.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-teacher-resources field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-field-teacher-resources"><p><a href="/sites/default/files/TRS2.%20Emily%20Griffith.docx">Emily Griffith Teacher Resource Set (Word)</a></p>&#13; &#13; <p><a href="/sites/default/files/TRS2.%20Emily%20Griffith.pdf">Emily Griffith Teacher Resource Set (PDF)</a></p>&#13; </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-4th-grade--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-4th-grade.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-4th-grade.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-4th-grade field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-field-4th-grade"><p>Emily Griffith (1868–1947) worked as a teacher in <strong>Denver</strong>. She started the Denver Opportunity School in 1916. The school was based on the idea that education should be available to everyone. The school was free and open to “all who wished to learn.” The school made Denver a leader in adult education in America.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Early Years</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Emily Griffith was born on February 10, 1868, in Cincinnati, Ohio. Her father was an unsuccessful lawyer. The family struggled financially. Her parents and siblings were often sick. Griffith left school after the eighth grade to take care of her family. Her sister Florence was developmentally disabled. The sisters developed a strong bond that would last their entire lives.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The family left Ohio to <strong>homestead</strong> in Nebraska when Griffith was sixteen. Her father was unable to support the family. Emily found work as a teacher in a one-room sod schoolhouse. She found that many of the adults had limited options for education. She came to believe that education could lift people out of poverty.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Move to Denver</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>In 1894 the family moved to Denver. Griffith applied to teach. After a decade in Denver classrooms, she was promoted in 1904 to be the deputy state superintendent of schools. She helped oversee schools throughout the state. In 1908 she returned to the classroom as an eighth-grade teacher at the Twenty-Fourth Street School in Denver’s <strong>Five Points</strong> neighborhood. The neighborhood was home to African Americans and immigrants. Their lack of education often left them in poverty. Many of Griffith’s young students had to work to support their families. Griffith became involved in the lives of her students and their families. She began to offer basic literacy lessons to adults.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>From 1910 to 1912, Griffith was the deputy state superintendent of instruction. She then returned to the Twenty-Fourth Street School as an administrator and teacher. She continued to teach adult classes after the children had left the building. Her classes were well attended. They spoke to the need for education in the broader community. Other adult education was focused on English-language and job training in high schools. Griffith started to believe that a new kind of school could serve adults.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Throughout this period, Griffith lived in Congress Park with her parents and her sister Florence. Her income supported the family. She had a variety of suitors and even a fiancé. Griffith called off the engagement when the man insisted she quit teaching. He said he would not allow Florence to live with them after they married.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Starting Opportunity School</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Griffith dreamed of starting a free school where people of all ages could attend classes. She believed that offering training would enable people to get better jobs. She had a name for the school: Opportunity.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Griffith used her connections in the community to campaign for funding. She spoke to business leaders, educators, and others about the school. Newspaperwoman <strong>Frances “Pinky” Wayne</strong> became a powerful ally who introduced the idea to the public.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Griffith presented her idea to the Denver Board of Education on May 11, 1916. The board endorsed Opportunity School. It would open that fall at the condemned Longfellow School. Griffith and her staff of five teachers worked all summer to prepare. On September 9, the school opened. Griffith hoped that 200 students would register for classes. However, 1,400 students enrolled the first week. Griffith pulled a desk into the front hall and welcomed every student. The school’s motto was posted on the building: “For All Who Wish to Learn.” The motto was inspired by Griffith’s uncle, who spent his evenings teaching his neighbors to read.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Opportunity School was open thirteen hours a day, five days a week. It allowed students to attend free, walk-in classes. Some classes taught specific job skills such as typewriting or sewing. Other classes taught subjects such as reading, writing, math, and English. Griffith added new skills and subjects based on what students wanted to learn. Quotes such as “You Can Do It” and “We Do Not Believe in Failure” were placed around the building. During the school’s first year, 2,398 students attended. The staff grew from 5 to 38 teachers.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>When a student fainted from hunger one day, Griffith recognized a new need. Her mother made a pot of soup. Her sister Florence served it in the school’s basement. By the end of the year, 200 bowls of soup were served each day. Women’s clubs started to provide the soup. Florence continued to serve meals to students for many years.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The school changed with the times. During <strong>World War I</strong>, it offered classes in steel working, and nursing. Classes were also added in bookkeeping and advertising. Special classrooms for blind and deaf students taught job skills. The school partnered with local businesses and unions to train students for specific jobs. It coordinated with the police department and charity groups to provide services for students. By 1931 enrollment had grown to about 10,000 people in 43 classes, with 105 teachers.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Influence and Recognition</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Griffith treated each of her students with respect and interest. She counseled students. She visited their homes. Griffith also helped them get food and clothing. She hired graduates of the “Housekeeper Assistant” class to plan and serve her dinner parties.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Opportunity School established Denver as a leader in adult education in the United States and around the world. In 1926 the National Education Association invited Griffith to speak at its annual conference. Leaders from cities across the country visited, looking to start similar schools. The school's influence even went overseas. Governments in England, Germany, Greece, and Russia expressed interest in Griffith’s model.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Griffith was concerned about the young homeless people in Denver. In 1927 she bought a neglected mansion near downtown. With help from community, she created “A Home for the Boy Who Needs One.” A rotating group of twelve boys lived there. The boys were given a room, meals, and the care of a “house mother” until they could make it on their own. The home still exists as Griffith Centers for Children.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Griffith was well-loved in the Denver community. She received many honors and awards. She was named “Colorado’s Most Useful Citizen” by <em>The Denver Post</em>. Griffith also became the first woman invited to join the Kiwanis Club of Denver. She received an honorary degree from the <strong>Colorado Women’s College</strong>.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Retirement Years</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>In 1933 Griffith retired after seventeen years as principal of Opportunity School. She was sixty-five years old. The school's name was changed to Emily Griffith Opportunity School to honor her.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Griffith retired to Pinecliffe, a small town near <strong>Nederland</strong> in the hills west of <strong>Boulder</strong>. She shared a cabin with Florence, who was unable to live by herself. Their sister Ethelyn and brother-in-law had a cabin on neighboring land.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The sisters lived a simple life in the mountains. They survived on Griffith’s pension of fifty dollars a month from Denver Public Schools. At first their cabin did not have indoor plumbing, power, or a telephone. Griffith later allowed the Kiwanis Club to install power and plumbing.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The sisters enjoyed entertaining old friends at their cabin. They hosted Sunday church services and potlucks. Griffith’s friend Fred Lundy, who lived nearby, visited often. He stopped in for meals. He helped the sisters around the cabin, chopping wood and running errands for them.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>A Tragic End</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>On June 18, 1947, Emily and Florence Griffith were found murdered on the floor of their cabin. They were each shot once in the back of the head. The doors of the cabin were locked. The dinner table was set for three. Fred Lundy was suspected. He had access to the cabin. His car was parked nearby with cash in a briefcase. A nationwide search for Lundy turned up empty. His body was found a month later in nearby South Boulder Creek. His death was ruled a suicide by drowning. Speculation about his motive abounded. Others believed Lundy was innocent. They suggested that an unknown killer was on the loose. Lundy’s guilt was never proven. The crime was never solved.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The deaths of the Griffith sisters shocked the Denver community. Their double funeral was held at <strong>Central Presbyterian Church</strong>. Flags flew at half-mast. The Emily Griffith Opportunity School closed for the day. The sisters were cremated. Their ashes were interred at <strong>Fairmount Cemetery</strong>.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Legacy</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>The Emily Griffith Opportunity School celebrated a century of service to the community in 2016. It is now known as Emily Griffith Technical College. The school offers more than 500 courses to thousands of students. Classes are no longer free, but they remain inexpensive. The sign above the door still reads, “For All Who Wish to Learn.”</p>&#13; &#13; <p>To celebrate Griffith, a stained-glass portrait of her was installed in the <strong>State Capitol </strong>in 1976. She was inducted into the Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame in 1985. In 2000 Mayor <strong>Wellington We</strong>bb honored her with a Millennium Award.</p>&#13; </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-8th-grade--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-8th-grade.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-8th-grade.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-8th-grade field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-field-8th-grade"><p>Emily Griffith (1868–1947) was a visionary in the field of adult, vocational, and alternative education. She worked as a teacher and administrator in <strong>Denver</strong> and started the Denver Opportunity School in 1916. The school was based on the idea that education should be accessible to everyone regardless of age, race, or gender. The school, funded by <strong>Denver Public Schools</strong>, was free and open to “all who wished to learn.” The school and its philosophy established Denver as a leader in adult education in America.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Early Years</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Emily Griffith was born on February 10, 1868, in Cincinnati, Ohio. Her father was an unsuccessful lawyer. The family struggled financially. Her parents and siblings were often sick, so she left school after the eighth grade to take care of her family. Her sister Florence was developmentally disabled. The sisters developed a strong bond that would last their entire lives.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The family left Ohio to <strong>homestead</strong> in Nebraska when Griffith was sixteen. Her father was unable to support the family, so Emily found work as a teacher in a one-room sod schoolhouse. Living with families in the community, she found that many of the adults had limited opportunities for education. She came to believe that access to education could lift people out of poverty.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Move to Denver</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>In 1894 the family moved to Denver, where Griffith applied to teach. After a decade in Denver classrooms, she was promoted in 1904 to be the deputy state superintendent of schools. She helped oversee schools throughout the state. In 1908 she returned to the classroom as an eighth-grade teacher at the Twenty-Fourth Street School in Denver’s <strong>Five Points</strong> neighborhood. The neighborhood was home to African Americans and immigrants. Their lack of education often left them in poverty. Many of Griffith’s young students had to work to support their families. Griffith became involved in the lives of her students and their families. She began to offer basic literacy lessons to adults in the neighborhood.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>From 1910 to 1912, Griffith served the state of Colorado as deputy state superintendent of instruction before returning to the Twenty-Fourth Street School as an administrator and teacher. She continued to teach adult classes at night after the children had left the building. Her classes were well attended and spoke to the need for education in the broader community. Other attempts at adult education in Denver at this time consisted mainly of English-language and citizenship classes aimed at immigrants and job training in high schools. Griffith started to believe that a new kind of school could serve the needs of adults.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Throughout this period, Griffith lived in Congress Park with her parents and her sister Florence. Her income supported the family. She had a variety of suitors and even, at one point, a fiancé. Griffith called off the engagement when the man insisted that she quit teaching. He said he would not allow Florence to live with them after they married.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Starting Opportunity School</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Griffith dreamed of starting a free school where people of all ages could attend classes. She believed that offering training and skills would enable people to get better jobs and enrich society as well as their own lives. She even had a name for the school: Opportunity. Her ideas seem to have come from her own experience. However, they included a larger wave of <strong>Progressive</strong>-era reforms that included incorporating immigrants into American society (Jane Addams) and offering greater chances for experiential education (John Dewey).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Griffith used her connections in the community and around the state to campaign for funding for her proposed school. She spoke to business leaders, “society women,” educators, and others about the school. Newspaperwoman <strong>Frances “Pinky” Wayne</strong> became a powerful ally and supporter who introduced the idea to the public.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Griffith presented her idea to the Denver Board of Education on May 11, 1916. The board endorsed Opportunity School. It would open that fall at the condemned Longfellow School at Thirteenth Avenue and Welton Street. Griffith and her staff of five teachers worked all summer to prepare. On September 9, the school opened its doors. Griffith hoped that 200 students would register for classes. However, 1,400 students enrolled the first week. Griffith pulled a desk into the front hall and welcomed every student. The school’s motto was posted on the building: “For All Who Wish to Learn.” The motto was inspired by Griffith’s uncle, who spent his evenings teaching his neighbors to read.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Opportunity School was open thirteen hours a day, five days a week. It allowed students to attend free, walk-in classes as their schedules permitted. Some classes taught specific job skills such as typewriting, sewing, and carpentry. Other classes taught subjects such as reading, writing, math, and English. Griffith added new skills and subjects based on what students wanted to learn. Quotes such as “You Can Do It” and “We Do Not Believe in Failure” were placed around the building. Teachers were ordered to be positive with each student. During the school’s first year, 2,398 students attended. The staff grew from 5 to 38 teachers.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>When a student fainted from hunger one day, Griffith recognized a new need. Her mother made a pot of soup, which her sister Florence served in the school’s basement. By the end of the year, 200 bowls of soup were served each day. Women’s clubs started to provide the soup. Florence continued to serve meals to students for many years.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The school evolved with the times. During <strong>World War I</strong>, it offered classes in airplane mechanics, steelworking, and nursing. Classes were also added in bookkeeping and advertising, as well as in “beauty work,” such as hairstyling and barbering. Special classrooms for blind and deaf students taught job skills. The school partnered with local businesses and unions to train students for specific jobs. It coordinated with the police department and charity groups to provide services for students. By 1931 enrollment had grown to about 10,000 people in 43 classes, with 105 teachers.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Influence and Recognition</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Griffith treated each of her students with respect and interest. She counseled students, visited their homes, helped them get food and clothing, and helped them when they were in crisis. She hired graduates of the “Housekeeper Assistant” class to plan and serve her dinner parties.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Opportunity School and its philosophy established Denver as a leader in adult education in the United States and around the world. In 1926 the National Education Association invited Griffith to speak at its annual conference. Educators and leaders from cities across the country visited Opportunity School, looking to start similar schools. Opportunity School’s influence also extended overseas. Governments in England, Germany, Greece, and Russia expressed interest in Griffith’s model.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Griffith was also concerned about the many young homeless people in Denver. In 1927 she bought a neglected mansion near downtown. With help from community organizations, she established “A Home for the Boy Who Needs One” at 9 Pearl Street. A rotating group of twelve boys lived there in a home-like atmosphere. The boys were given a room, meals, and the care of a “house mother” until they could make it on their own. The home evolved and still exists as Griffith Centers for Children.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Griffith was well loved in the Denver community and received many honors and awards. She was elected president of the Colorado Education Association. She was declared “Colorado’s Most Useful Citizen” by <em>The Denver Post</em>. Griffith also became the first woman invited to join the Kiwanis Club of Denver. Despite her eighth-grade education, she received honorary degrees from the <strong>Colorado State Teacher’s College</strong> and <strong>Colorado Women’s College</strong>.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Retirement Years</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>In 1933 Griffith retired after seventeen years as principal of Opportunity School. She was sixty-five years old. Opportunity School’s name was changed to Emily Griffith Opportunity School to honor her.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Griffith retired to Pinecliffe, a small town near <strong>Nederland </strong>in the hills west of <strong>Boulder</strong>. She shared a cabin with Florence, who was unable to live by herself. Their sister Ethelyn and brother-in-law had a cabin on neighboring land.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The sisters lived a simple life in the mountains. They survived on Griffith’s pension of fifty dollars a month from Denver Public Schools. At first their cabin did not have indoor plumbing, electricity, or a telephone. Griffith later allowed the Kiwanis Club to install electricity and plumbing.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The sisters enjoyed entertaining old friends at their cabin. They hosted Sunday church services and potlucks. Griffith’s friend Fred Lundy, who lived nearby, visited often. He stopped in for meals. He helped the sisters around the cabin, chopping wood and running errands for them.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>A Tragic End</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>On June 18, 1947, Emily and Florence Griffith were found murdered on the floor of their cabin. They were each shot once in the back of the head. The doors of the cabin were locked, and the dinner table was set for three. Fred Lundy was suspected. He had access to the cabin. His car was parked nearby with cash in a briefcase. A nationwide search for Lundy turned up empty. His body was found a month later in nearby South Boulder Creek. His death was ruled a suicide by drowning. Speculation about his motive abounded. Did he believe the sisters had become a burden? Did he kill them because of Griffith’s concerns about dying before her sister? Was he a thwarted suitor in a jealous rage? Others believed Lundy incapable of the murders. They suggested that the sisters were killed by relatives for life insurance money or that an unknown killer was on the loose. Lundy’s guilt was never proven, and the crime was never solved.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The deaths of the Griffith sisters shocked the Denver community. Their double funeral was held at <strong>Central Presbyterian Church</strong>, where Emily Griffith had been a member for decades. Flags flew at half-mast, and the Emily Griffith Opportunity School closed for the day. The sisters were cremated and their ashes interred at <strong>Fairmount Cemetery</strong>.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Legacy</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>The Emily Griffith Opportunity School celebrated a century of service to the community in 2016. Now known as Emily Griffith Technical College, the school offers more than 500 courses to thousands of students at its a main campus at 1860 Lincoln Street and two satellite locations. Classes are no longer free, but they remain inexpensive. The sign above the door still reads, “For All Who Wish to Learn.”</p>&#13; &#13; <p>To celebrate Griffith’s contributions to Colorado, a stained-glass portrait of her was installed in the <strong>State Capitol</strong> in 1976. Griffith was inducted into the Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame in 1985. In 2000 Mayor <strong>Wellington Webb</strong> honored her with a Millennium Award for her contributions to the city.</p>&#13; &#13; <p> </p>&#13; </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-10th-grade--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-10th-grade.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-10th-grade.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-10th-grade field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-field-10th-grade"><p>Emily Griffith (1868–1947) was a visionary educator in the field of adult, vocational, and alternative education. After working as a teacher and administrator in <strong>Denver</strong>, she started the Denver Opportunity School in 1916, premised on the idea that education should be accessible to everyone regardless of age, race, or gender. The school, funded by <strong>Denver Public Schools</strong>, was free and open to “all who wished to learn.” The first institution of its kind in the nation, the school and its philosophy established Denver as a leader in adult education in America.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Early Years</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Emily Griffith was born on February 10, 1868, in Cincinnati, Ohio. Her father was an unsuccessful lawyer, and the family struggled financially. Her parents and siblings were often sick, so she left school after the eighth grade to take care of her family. Her sister Florence was developmentally disabled, and the sisters developed a strong bond that would last their entire lives.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The family left Ohio to <strong>homestead</strong> in Nebraska when Griffith was sixteen. Her father was unable to support the family, so Emily found work as a teacher in a one-room sod schoolhouse. Living with families in the community, she found that many of the adults had limited opportunities for education. She came to believe that access to education could lift people out of poverty.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Move to Denver</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>In 1894 the family moved to Denver, where Griffith applied to teach in the local school system. After a decade in Denver classrooms, she was promoted in 1904 to be the deputy state superintendent of schools, helping to oversee schools throughout the state. In 1908 she returned to the classroom as an eighth-grade teacher at the Twenty-Fourth Street School in Denver’s <strong>Five Points</strong> neighborhood. The neighborhood was home to African Americans and immigrants whose lack of education often left them in poverty. Many of Griffith’s young students had to work to support their families, as she had at their age. Griffith became involved in the lives of her students and their families, and she began to offer basic literacy lessons to adults in the neighborhood.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>From 1910 to 1912, Griffith served the state of Colorado as deputy state superintendent of instruction before returning to the Twenty-Fourth Street School as an administrator and teacher. She continued to teach adult classes at night after the children had left the building. Her classes were well attended and spoke to the need for education in the broader community. Other attempts at adult and vocational education in Denver at this time consisted mainly of English-language and citizenship classes aimed at immigrants and job training in high schools. Griffith started to believe that a new kind of school could serve the needs of adults.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Throughout this period, Griffith lived in Congress Park with her parents and her sister Florence. Her income supported the family. She had a variety of suitors and even, at one point, a fiancé. Griffith called off the engagement when the man insisted that she quit teaching. He said he would not allow Florence to live with them after they married.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Starting Opportunity School</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Griffith dreamed of starting a free school where people of all ages could attend classes with flexible hours and personalized instruction. She believed that offering training and skills would enable people to get better jobs and enrich society as well as their own lives. She even had a name for the school: Opportunity. Her ideas seem to have come from her own experience, but they took part in a larger wave of <strong>Progressive</strong>-era educational reforms that included incorporating immigrants into American society (Jane Addams) and offering greater opportunities for experiential education (John Dewey).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Griffith used her connections in the community and around the state to campaign for funding for her proposed school. She spoke to business leaders, “society women,” educators, and others about the school. Newspaperwoman <strong>Frances “Pinky” Wayne</strong> became a powerful ally and supporter who introduced the idea to the public.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Griffith presented her idea to the Denver Board of Education on May 11, 1916. The board endorsed Opportunity School. It would open that fall at the condemned Longfellow School at Thirteenth Avenue and Welton Street. Griffith and her staff of five teachers worked all summer to prepare. On September 9, Opportunity School opened its doors. Griffith hoped that 200 students would register for classes, but 1,400 students enrolled the first week. Griffith pulled a desk into the front hall and welcomed every student who entered. The school’s motto was posted on the building: “For All Who Wish to Learn.” The motto was inspired by Griffith’s uncle, who spent his evenings teaching his neighbors to read.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Opportunity School was open thirteen hours a day, five days a week, allowing students to attend free, walk-in classes as their schedules permitted. Some classes taught specific job skills such as millinery, telegraphy, typewriting, sewing, and carpentry. Other classes taught academic subjects such as reading, writing, math, and English. Griffith added new skills and subjects based on what students wanted to learn. Inspirational quotes such as “You Can Do It” and “We Do Not Believe in Failure” were placed around the building. Teachers were ordered to be positive with each student. During the school’s first year, 2,398 students attended, and the staff grew from 5 to 38 teachers.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>When a student fainted from hunger one day, Griffith recognized a new need. Her mother made a pot of soup, which her sister Florence served in the school’s basement. By the end of the year, 200 bowls of soup were served each day. Women’s clubs started to provide the soup, and Florence continued to serve the soup to students for many years.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The school evolved with the times. During <strong>World War I</strong>, it offered classes in airplane mechanics, radio communication, steelworking, nursing, and ambulance driving. Classes were also added in salesmanship, bookkeeping, and advertising, as well as in “beauty work,” such as hairstyling and barbering. Special classrooms for blind and deaf students taught communication and job skills. The school partnered with local businesses and unions to train students for specific jobs and certifications, and it coordinated with the police department, social workers, and charity organizations to provide services for students. By 1931 enrollment had grown to about 10,000 people in 43 classes, with 105 teachers.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Influence and Recognition</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Griffith treated each of her students with respect and interest, insisting that every person had worth and dignity. She counseled students, created courses to meet their needs, visited their homes, helped them get food and clothing, and assisted them when they were in crisis. She wore the fashionable hats created in the school’s millinery classes and hired graduates of the “Housekeeper Assistant” class to plan and serve her dinner parties.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Opportunity School and its philosophy established Denver as a leader in adult education in the United States and around the world. In 1926 the National Education Association invited Griffith to speak at its annual conference. Educators and civic leaders from Baltimore, Cleveland, and other cities across the country visited Opportunity School, looking to start similar schools in their own communities. Opportunity School’s influence also extended overseas, with governments in England, Germany, Greece, and Russia expressing interest in Griffith’s model.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>In addition to her work at Opportunity School, Griffith was concerned about the many young homeless people in Denver. In 1927 she bought a neglected mansion near downtown. With financial help from community organizations, including the Denver Kiwanis Club, she established “A Home for the Boy Who Needs One” at 9 Pearl Street. A rotating group of twelve boys lived there in a home-like atmosphere. The boys were provided a room, meals, and the care of a “house mother” until they could make it on their own. The home evolved and still exists as Griffith Centers for Children.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Griffith was well loved in the Denver community and received many honors and awards during her life. She was elected president of the Colorado Education Association, declared “Colorado’s Most Useful Citizen” by <em>The Denver Post</em>, and became the first woman invited to join the Kiwanis Club of Denver. Despite her eighth-grade education, she received honorary degrees from the Colorado State Teacher’s College (now <strong>University of Northern Colorado</strong>), the <strong>University of Colorado</strong>, and <strong>Colorado Women’s College</strong>.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Retirement Years</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>In 1933 Griffith retired after seventeen years as principal of Opportunity School. She was sixty-five years old. Opportunity School’s name was changed to Emily Griffith Opportunity School to honor her contributions.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Griffith retired to Pinecliffe, a small town near <strong>Nederland</strong> in the hills west of <strong>Boulder</strong>, where she shared a cabin with Florence, who was unable to live by herself. Their sister Ethelyn and brother-in-law had a cabin on neighboring land.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The sisters lived a simple life in the mountains, surviving on Griffith’s standard pension of fifty dollars each month from Denver Public Schools. Initially their primitive cabin did not have indoor plumbing, electricity, or a telephone; Griffith later allowed the Kiwanis Club to install electricity and plumbing.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The sisters enjoyed entertaining old friends at their cabin, hosting Sunday church services and potlucks. Griffith’s friend Fred Lundy, who lived nearby, was a frequent visitor, often stopping in for meals. He helped the sisters around the cabin, chopping wood and running errands for them.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>A Tragic End</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>On June 18, 1947, Emily and Florence Griffith were found murdered on the floor of their cabin, each shot once in the back of the head. The doors of the cabin were locked, and the dinner table was set for three. Fred Lundy was immediately suspected. He had access to the cabin, and his car was parked nearby with a stash of cash in a briefcase. A nationwide search for Lundy turned up empty until his body was found a month later in nearby South Boulder Creek. His death was ruled a suicide by drowning. Speculation about his motive abounded: did he believe the sisters had become a burden, did he kill them because of Griffith’s concerns about dying before her sister, or was he a thwarted suitor in a jealous rage? Others believed Lundy incapable of the murders and suggested that the sisters were killed by relatives for life insurance money or that an unknown killer was on the loose. Lundy’s guilt was never proven, and the crime was never solved.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The deaths of the Griffith sisters shocked the Denver community. Their double funeral was held at <strong>Central Presbyterian Church</strong>, where Emily Griffith had been a member for decades. Flags flew at half-mast, and the Emily Griffith Opportunity School closed for the day. The sisters were cremated and their ashes interred at <strong>Fairmount Cemetery</strong>.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Legacy</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>The Emily Griffith Opportunity School celebrated a century of service to the community in 2016. Now known as Emily Griffith Technical College, the school offers more than 500 courses to thousands of students at its a main campus at 1860 Lincoln Street and two satellite locations. Classes are no longer free, but they remain inexpensive. The sign above the door still reads, “For All Who Wish to Learn.”</p>&#13; &#13; <p>To celebrate Griffith’s contributions to Colorado, a stained-glass portrait of her was installed in the <strong>State Capitol</strong> in 1976. Griffith was inducted into the Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame in 1985. In 2000 Mayor<strong> Wellington Webb</strong> honored her with a Millennium Award for her contributions to the city.</p>&#13; </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> Tue, 07 Jul 2020 21:54:19 +0000 yongli 3375 at http://coloradoencyclopedia.org