Volunteer Spotlight - Judy Gingerich
by: Larry Miller
Among newer volunteers at the High Plains Western Heritage Center is Minnesota native Judy Gingerich, who retired about three years ago and set her sights on the Black Hills of South Dakota as a place to settle down.
Judy was born and graduated from high school in Albert Lea, Minnesota, and started working in the construction business. Then relocating to the central Minnesota community of Eagan for about three years before migrating to the Rochester area in southeast Minnesota, living first in Byron and then relocating to a hobby farm about 15 miles north of Rochester in the vicinity of Oronoco.
She attended a community college and subsequently a Vo-Tech school, better preparing her for her role in helping start Innovative Contractors, Inc., where she was involved not only in concrete work and operating the curb and gutter machine, but also keeping the books!
“I was really a Jack-of-all-trades and was majority owner for a few years. I also had an opportunity to visit girls trade classes in Mankato to discuss what it was like being a woman in a male-dominated business. I really enjoyed that.”
Innovative Contractors merged with Common Concrete, and Judy became Chief Financial Officer, a position she held until retiring three years ago.
Drawn to the Black Hills by what she describes as its “Banana Belt” climate and its unique sites, history, and outdoor recreational opportunities, Judy first considered Hot Springs as a retirement home. Upon closer examination she was drawn more to Spearfish, a community she felt would be a good year-round home, where she could settle down, get involved in the community and become a part of the community.
Fascinated by the irrigation ditches that served much of Spearfish, its proximity to Spearfish Canyon and other well known landmarks like Mount Rushmore and Crazy Horse, made it easier to choose Spearfish for her retirement. Highlights from last summer included sharing the Custer Buffalo Round-up with her sister and brother-in-law along, as well as the Crazy Horse Volksmarch, riding UTV’s with family to see the spring wildflowers at the Cement Ridge Lookout, and hiking Sunday Gulch multiple times with family and friends!
As someone who has always enjoyed visiting museums, Judy Gingerich says she was impressed with the unique structure atop a hill in southeast Spearfish and was delighted to learn it was a museum. We hope you’ll stop by and welcome her to the Heritage Center!