Call NumberOH513Interviewee NameKnapp, Susan, 1949-Interviewer NameColorado Voice PreserveNelson, CynsDateNovember 16, 2013SummarySusan Lynn Knapp was born in 1949 in Denver, Colorado. Her family had lived in the Globeville and Swansea neighborhood for several decades, within a few blocks of each other, and owned several family businesses together. Her father and his siblings attended Swansea Elementary School. One family business, Orney Knapps Country Market, was located near the Safeway warehouse on 46th Avenue and Colorado Boulevard. Other businesses included a restaurant and liquor store. Susan attended Harrington Elementary School with several cousins and two brothers. She later attended Montcapri Lutheran Elementary School. She later worked in various judicial courts. She never married and has one adopted child. As of November 2013, she lives in Parker, Colorado.
In her interview Susan Knapp describes memories of the Globeville and Swansea neighborhoods, her grandparents’ house next to the Colorado Serum Company. She talks about different businesses in the neighborhood, mainly drug stores, restaurants, and specifically Safeway, Purina, Dolly Madison Ice Cream, and the A&W Root Beer Stand. She talks at length about the family market, how it started, selling Christmas trees, and operating a plant nursery. She discusses attending elementary school with European immigrant children, as well as her childhood dance lessons. She also discusses the impact and construction of Interstate-70 on the family, their businesses, and overall community feelings. She explains the importance of Riverside Cemetery to her family, the early communities’ interaction with it, the history behind it, and the orphan train children monument. She recalls experiences attending the National Western Stock Show and special events at the Denver Coliseum with her cousins. She sees future projects like Grow House hydroponic project, as an important step forward, and the need to preserve the community heritage.Physical Description1 digital file (45:04)1 transcript : 13 pagesSubjectKnapp, Susan, 1949-Globeville (Denver, Colo. : Neighborhood)Elyria-Swansea (Denver, Colo. : Neighborhood)Geographic AreaDenver (Colo.)Original Material Found in CollectionGlobeville and Swansea and Elyria Oral History ProjectRepositoryCentral LibraryCollectionCreating Your Community
Susan Knapp oral history (November 16, 2013). Denver Public Library Digital Collections, accessed 08/02/2026, https://digital.denverlibrary.org/nodes/view/858578
