A Pillar of His Community

By Jack Saroni

Louis William Goll

May 28, 1893-December 2, 1979

Louis William Goll was born on May 28th, 1893, in Louisburg, Missouri.[1] Louis was the second born to George and Melinda Goll, and had a much older sister named Lettie, a divorced mother with a child only a few years younger Louis. For much of Louis’s young life, Lettie and her son lived with the Goll family on their Missouri farm. The son of French immigrants, George Goll worked as a dry goods merchant while simultaneously owning and operating the family farm.[2] Although situated at the crossroads of two interstate highways, Louisburg was and continues to be a small rural community in the heart of Missouri.

A typical Union artillery unit during the Civil War. [5]

George Goll served in the Union Army during the Civil War from 1862 through his discharge in 1865. A member of the Ohio Infantry Regiment, George fought the Confederacy for three years as an artillery soldier, ultimately receiving severe wounds and an honorable discharge in April of 1865.[3] Although not commonly considered when discussing the Civil War, Ohio was a major supporter of the Northern cause, providing over 300,000 soldiers to the Union Army, the third largest number from any Union state.[4] After his military service, George married Louis’s mother, Melinda, and the young family soon settled in Grant, Missouri. It was nearly twenty years until George and Melinda had Louis, with there being no explanation as to the large gap in between children.

In 1906, tragedy struck the Goll family when George suddenly died at the age of 62.[6] Seeking a new life for herself and Louis, Melinda relocated to Nara Visa, New Mexico. Situated upon the New Mexico/Texas border, the Goll’s new home was a far cry from rural Missouri. Fortunately, the mother and son were able to purchase a small farm in Nara Visa, making their living the same way as they had in Missouri. Louis worked as a laborer for the farm during this time, supporting his mother as she continued to grieve for her dead husband. Lettie, Louis's much older sister, re-married shortly after the death of her father, and remained with her new husband in Missouri.[7]

What Nara Visa Looked Like when Melinda and Louis moved there.[8]

When Melinda and Louis relocated to Nara Visa, the small settlement at the edge of New Mexico just started to prosper, with small numbers of farmers and prospectors helping establish Nara Visa into a legitimate town. As the population and thus job opportunities grew in the village, Louis secured a steady job as a clerk for Mr. Hugo H. Loewenstern, a respected businessman in the small town. While working for Loewenstern, Louis crossed paths with his boss’s son, also named Hugo, who would become a famous Jazz Saxophonist.[9] Hugo Jr.’s virtuosity at the instrument was identified at an early age, meaning Louis was present for the beginning career of one of the most prolific saxophonists of the age.

Louis’s steady job as a clerk was interrupted by the America’s delayed entry to World War One. Following in his father’s footsteps of defending freedom, Louis registered for the military on June 5, 1917 at the age of 24. Either by coincidence or based off his skills, Louis served as a Wagoner in the US Army, dealing directly with animals he had experience with having been raised on farms all his life. This was a job that was soon to be replaced by the advent of automobiles, but during the Great War, Wagoners were still essential to military logistics and operations. Given the Wagoner's sole responsibility over the horses and wagon, Louis had several duties and chores associated with his position.[10] These included, but were not limited to, grooming, feeding and general care of the horses, harnessing and unharnessing, repairing any potential damage to the wagon, and finally the ability to quickly respond and adapt to changing conditions. While no specifics can be found regarding his service in the First World War, Louis undoubtedly fulfilled his many responsibilities to the best of his ability and was honorably discharged in March of 1919.[11]

A wagon team and terrain identical to what Private Goll drove during the Great War.

Following his military service, Louis relocated to Denver, where he met and soon married the love of his life, Kathryn Ranchenberg in August of 1922.[13] A native of Denver, Kathryn worked as a seamstress for the Denver Dry Goods Company prior to her marriage to Louis.[14] The two would soon have their first child, George Fredrick, named after Louis’s father, in 1924. This was followed four years later by the birth of Rosemary Goll in 1928.[15] As the young couple established their new life together in Denver, Louis soon got a job as a delivery driver for the Denver Pressed Brick Company. While not much information can be found about Denver Pressed Brick specifically, similar masonry companies were responsible for many of Denver’s iconic and historic buildings.

The only surviving photograph of the Denver Pressed Brick Company, located on 16th and Clay Streets.[16]

Louis spent nearly 20 years employed by the Denver Pressed Brick Company until he was pulled back into military service at the age of 49. Despite himself and Kathryn not having any higher education, the Golls were able to provide quite well for their two children. In the years prior to the war, both George and Rosemary graduated from West High School and excelled in their studies. In addition to academics, Rosemary participated in the drama program at West. During this time, Denver’s economy was slowly growing bigger and bigger, giving Denver Pressed Brick and Louis Goll plenty of business supplying the foundational materials of Denver’s growth.

By the time the United States entered the Second World War, George was of military age, and decided to follow both his father and grandfather into the Army. Louis and his son registered for World War II at the same time in 1942, at the ages of 49 and 18 respectively. It’s unknown what unit or where George served during the conflict, but by the war’s end he made it through alive and went on to marry Eula Goll. Sadly, for George, Eula preceded him in death by nearly 30 years.

It was not uncommon for fathers and sons to enlist in the Second World War together, as oftentimes, such as in this scenario, the father served his country 20 years previously in the Great War. Wanting to uphold a tradition of fighting for freedom, many sons followed their father’s footsteps and enlisted soon after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. George Goll was no exception, making him the third generation of Goll men to fight for the United States.

Rosemary Goll yearbook photo, West High School, taken around 1945. [17]

As for the elder Goll, little is known about his involvement in the Second World War, apart from his affiliation with the 63rd Infantry Battalion.[18] Given his rather advanced age, it is unlikely that Louis saw any wartime action or combat and thus remained in Colorado for the duration of the war. While not serving in a direct way, Louis’s experience in the First World War likely educated the young men who were sent abroad to fight the Nazis.

Nicknamed the “Fire and Blood” battalion after a speech given by Winston Churchill, the 63rd arrived in Europe in December of 1944.[19] At this stage in the war, the once superior trained and equipped Wehrmacht was a shadow of what Blitzkrieged across Europe years earlier. Despite this, the Nazis still put up a strong resistance to the 63rd battalion, who saw tough fighting while trying to break the Siegfried Line.

Aside from their actions on the Siegfried line, the 63rd is most notable for liberating the Kaufering Concentration Camp in Bavaria. Though not explicitly a death camp, the conditions of Kaufering horrified the American liberators, who witnessed first-hand the cruelty of the Nazis towards the Jewish population. The 63rd Infantry Battalion was officially recognized as a “Liberating Unit” by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2000.

The emblem of the 63rd Infantry Battalion, reflecting the nickname “Fire and Blood” [20]

Upon the end of World War Two, Louis and Kathryn remained in the Denver area. Louis continued his job for the Denver Pressed Brick Company, where he presumably worked up until his retirement. Following World War II, Denver’s economy swelled in the postwar boom that fueled the city’s rapid growth and expansion, “The post-war period represented the greatest influx of residents into the Denver area since the gold-rush days and dwarfs the recent boom in population.”[21] This population increases was partially fueled by returning veterans who were stationed in and around Denver during the war, and who decided to settle down following the conflict. The Golls, unlike these new transplants, had lived in Denver for decades, and constituted the smaller portion of original Denverites.

Once George and Rosemary graduated college, their parents spent their remaining years as engaged members of the Denver community. Rosemary went on to marry Joesph Dedonis, a Denver local and stationary engineer.[22] At the age of 86, and having lived a fulling and purposeful life, Louis William Goll passed away on December 2, 1979. His beloved Kathryn followed her husband into the afterlife the very next year.[23] Having dedicated several years of his life towards serving the United States Military, Louis and Kathryn are buried together at Fort Logan National Cemetery, along with their son George and his wife Eula.

Footnotes ↓

[1] “United States Federal 1900 Census,” ancestry.com, entry for Louis W. Goll, July 8, 2021, https://www.ancestrylibrary.com/discoveryui-content/view/29365628:7602?tid=&pid=&queryId=25a92ff8237757322d355b99562a654f&_phsrc=xRr166&_phstart=successSource.

[2] “United States Federal 1900 Census,” ancestry.com, entry for George F Goll July 8, 2021, https://www.ancestrylibrary.com/discoveryui-content/view/29365624:7602.

[3] “U.S. Civil War Soldier Records and Profiles, 1861-1865,” ancestry.com, entry for George F. Goll, accessed July 11, 2021, https://www.ancestrylibrary.com/discoveryui-content/view/748848:1555.

[4] “Ohio in the Civil War Interesting Facts,” Ohiohistory.org, accessed July 11, 2021, https://www.ohiohistory.org/learn/collections/history/history-blog/2011/april-2011/ohio-in-the-civil-war-interesting-facts.

[5] “Battery H, 1st Ohio Light Artillery,” angelfire.com, accessed July 11, 2021, https://www.angelfire.com/oh4/civwar/14thohio/bttyh.html.

[6] “George Fredrick Goll,” findagrave.com, accessed July 8, 2021, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/32480193/george-f-goll.

[7] “1910 United States Federal Census,” ancestry.com, entry for Lettie J Hayden, accessed July 9, 2021, https://www.ancestrylibrary.com/discoveryui-content/view/189466161:7884.

[8] “Nara Visa, New Mexico – A Picturesque Ghost Town,” legendsofamerica.com, accessed July 10, 2021, https://www.legendsofamerica.com/nm-naravisa/.

[9] “Hugo Lowenstern” Discogs.com, accessed July 13, 2021, https://www.discogs.com/artist/3190482-Hugo-Lowenstern.

[10] “The Duties of a US Army Wagoner”, newspapers.com, accessed July 10, 2021, http://freepages.rootsweb.com/~gregkrenzelok/genealogy/veterinary%20corp%20in%20ww1/wagonerduties.html.

[11] ”US Veterans Gravesites, 1775-2019," ancestry.com, entry for Louis W Goll, accessed July 6, 2021, https://www.ancestrylibrary.com/discoveryui-content/view/1207121:8750.

[12] “The Duties of a US Army Wagoner,” newspapers.com, accessed July 10, 2021, http://freepages.rootsweb.com/~gregkrenzelok/genealogy/veterinary%20corp%20in%20ww1/wagonerduties.html.

[13] “In the Colorado, Country Marriage Records and State Index 1862-2006", ancestry.com, entry Louis W. Goll, accessed July 8, 2021, https://search.ancestrylibrary.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?dbid=61366&h=149525&indiv=try&o_vc=Record:OtherRecord&rhSource=8750.

[14] Obituary for Kathryn Goll, Denver Post, accessed July 9, 2021, https://infoweb-newsbank-com.du.idm.oclc.org/apps/news/document-view?p=WORLDNEWS&t=&sort=_rank_%3AD&fld-base-0=alltext&maxresults=20&val-base-0=Louis%20William%20Goll%20denver&docref=image/v2%3A12C7581AC4BD0728%40WHNPX-168EF239977B48F9%402444291-168ED0FC76BDFC44%4021-168ED0FC76BDFC44%40.

[15] “United States Federal Census 1930,” ancestry.com, entry for Louis W. Goll, accessed July 10, 2021, https://www.ancestrylibrary.com/discoveryui-content/view/101311818:6224.

[16] ” Denver Pressed Brick Company,” Denver Public Library, accessed July 10, 2021, https://digital.denverlibrary.org/digital/collection/p15330coll22/id/33584/.

[17] ” School Yearbook Photos, 1900-1999,” ancestry.com, entry for Rosemary Goll, accessed July 11, 2021, https://www.ancestrylibrary.com/discoveryui-content/view/234421702:1265.

[18] WW2 Infantry roster, Fold3.com, accessed July 8, 2021, https://www.fold3.com/image/296506707?terms=war,two,world,william,louis,goll,ii.

[19] “The 63rd Infantry Division during WW2,” encyclopedia.com, accessed July 11, 2021, https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/the-63rd-infantry-division.

[20] “The 63rd Infantry Division during WW2,” encyclopedia.com, accessed July 11, 2021, https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/the-63rd-infantry-division.

[21] “WWII's end forever altered city's identity,” Denver Post Online, accessed July 15, 2021, https://extras.denverpost.com/snapshot/part2a.htm.

[22] ”US City Directories, 1822-1995," ancestry.com, entry for Joesph Dedonis, accessed July 11, 2021, https://www.ancestrylibrary.com/discoveryui-content/view/866257251:2469.

[23] Obituary for Katheryn Goll, Denver Post, accessed July 9, 2021, https://infoweb-newsbank-com.du.idm.oclc.org/apps/news/document-view?p=WORLDNEWS&t=&sort=_rank_%3AD&fld-base-0=alltext&maxresults=20&val-base-0=Louis%20William%20Goll%20denver&docref=image/v2%3A12C7581AC4BD0728%40WHNPX-168EF239977B48F9%402444291-168ED0FC76BDFC44%4021-168ED0FC76BDFC44%40.