Eminent Farmer
County: Hutchinson
Henry Ripp, Dimock, is a pioneer of the Hutchinson County dairy industry. His interest and service to the Dimock community reflect his philosophy of life. Like most community leaders, he feels that hard work for the good of the community may not always put money in your pocket but the rewards are still worthwhile.
A native of Wisconsin, Ripp moved to Hutchinson County in 1920. Realizing that successful dairymen need good cattle and good markets, he promoted the Dimock Dairy Products Company, founded in 1933. He was secretary for 15 years.
Ripp helped organize the Eager Beavers 4-H Club, served on the Hutchinson County Extension Board, the County Fair Board, the State and National Holstein Fresian Association and the National Poland China Record Association of South Dakota.
He has been a member of the Hutchinson County Crop Improvement Association since 1939 and helped organize the Hutchinson County Livestock Improvement Association. Ripp has been a Republican precinct committeeman for 30 years.
He was secretary of the Dimock Farmers Grain and Stock Company for 10 years and was president of the Board of Directors of the Dimock Farmers Mutual Fire Insurance Company for 15 years.
He and his wife, Bertha, have raised six children. Bill and Mark are engaged in farming with their father. Marie, (Ray) Panneck, who lives at Taunton, Minnesota, attended Mt. Marty College at Yankton. Jerome is associated with a Mitchell concrete products firm and Joseph, a graduate of St. John’s Seminary at Collegeville, Minnesota, is a priest at Little Flower parish in Sioux Falls. Thomas, a building contractor at Riverside, California, and Mark both attended South Dakota State University.