About the Foundation

For over 100 years, Denfeld High School has been an educational beacon in western Duluth. First established in 1905 as Duluth industrial High School, Denfeld students moved into the current historical building in 1926.

A Greater Denfeld Scholarship Fund was formed in 1955 by a group of Denfeld staff and alumni to honor a pair of teachers: Loena Thomey, killed in a military plane crash in 1945, and Lenore Snodgrass, a beloved Denfeld English teacher for 35 years, until her death in 1953. In 1955, the fund awarded its first scholarship of $150 (about $1,700 in today’s money). For the next 15 years, Denfeld awarded a small scholarship in memory of Thomey and Snodgrass, but the funds were eventually depleted.

Today’s Greater Denfeld Foundation was established in 1971, again by alumni and teachers. Its first award was also a one-year grant of $150. Now, the Greater Denfeld Foundation (GDF) scholarships are comprised of seventeen one-time awards ranging from $2,000 to $5,000, including ten generous tribute scholarships named in honor of special members of the Denfeld family.

The foundation’s original goal was to raise $250,000. By 2001, the foundation had assets of $175,000. That year, longtime Denfeld teacher and 1925 graduate Marie Saltwick bequeathed $2.7 million to the foundation, funding its first renewable scholarship. Miss Saltwick, a demanding but fair biology teacher, had been a founding member of the GDF. She seldom spent money on herself, mowed her own lawn into her 80s. Close friends knew that she quietly gave generously.

In 2006, Armond Hauge, a 1946 graduate, passed and left Denfeld $3.2 million to start another renewable scholarship fund. This startling gift was made even more remarkable by the fact that after graduation, Mr. Hauge was employed by a local car dealership as an auto mechanic and worked there for most of his life. He got his first job at age six and saved and invested judiciously, living on only half his income and saving the rest.

In 2024, Mark and Ina Myles established a third renewable scholarship. Mr. Myles, a 1961 Denfeld graduate, was a teacher, Duluth principal for 25 years, and became Superintendent of Duluth Schools in 1993. Ina Myles had a career in public relations. Her interest in students and education helped create the Duluth Open School, the Duluth Boys and Girls Club, and a nonprofit that helped students who dropped out to get back into school or a vocational program.

The Dennis Maki Scholarship was established in 2026. Mr. Maki is a 1962 graduate of Denfeld. After serving in the Vietnam War and studying accounting at UMD (B.A. in Accounting), Mr. Maki started a career in business, largely with Herff Jones, a scholastic products manufacturer. In addition to his support through this GDF fund, Mr Maki also supports Denfeld grads who attend UMD through UMD’s Dennis L. Maki Scholarship Fund.

The Myles, Saltwick, Hauge, and Maki scholarships all provide $3,000 renewable grants designed to support four years of post-secondary higher education.

In addition to these scholarships, the “Greater Denfeld Foundation Memorial Fund” was started with contributions from the Harry Fisher/Class of ’55 and the Steve Anderson Memorial Fund to help teachers and clubs fund special needs within the school. Donations from the Memorial Fund provide Denfeld teachers, coaches, advisors and staff with money for items not covered in their budgets to enhance students’ educational experiences.

Thanks to the many generous gifts from numerous people who hold Denfeld close to their hearts, now well over $9 million has been invested in the futures of Denfeld students Since the inception of the Greater Denfeld Foundation, well over $8 million has been invested in the futures of Denfeld students.