Eminent Homemaker
County: Lawrence
Orpha Schenk, formerly Orpha Merill, was graduated from Black Hills Teachers College in Spearfish in 1917 and taught school in Spearfish prior to her marriage in 1919. The couple settled on the ranch ten miles west of Spearfish where they still live.
Schenk has been a member of the Crow Creek home demonstration club for 29 years. During this period she has held every office in the club—repeating in some at various times. During the five-year period she set a record by never missing a meeting of her group. Much of her club work centers around reading projects.
This year she helped to organize an association of 25-year members of home demonstration clubs in Lawrence County.
Schenk enjoys sewing and spends quite a bit of her free time in this pursuit. Hooked rugs from castoff materials cover many of the floors of her ranch home. More recently she has taken up furniture refinishing as a hobby and has refinished several pieces in her home.
She has served as a member of her school board since her marriage, part of that time as chairman. She is a member of a county committee for a proposed mental health research project and of a district committee to study work projects for the Cooperative Extension Service.
The Schenks have reared four daughters and one son. The son, also named Joseph, ranches with his father on the home place.
Each year the Schenk ranch plays host for a July 4 community picnic. This annual event has been carried on for the past 30 years.