GOSHEN COUNTY – Geri Zeimens credits her upbringing for her role in paving the way for women – specifically female athletes – as well as helping children and families in Goshen County.
Zeimens was born in Torrington and moved to the Huntley area when she was about six years old. Her parents raised sugar beets, pinto beans, small grains, corn, alfalfa, and cattle, and she and her three brothers – Joe, Steven, and Ron (Zavorka) – helped out on the farm.
“You learned responsibilities early,” Zeimens said. “We made due – we had a lot of secondhand stuff, thrifty stuff.”
She attended Goshen Hole High School (now Southeast) and then Eastern Wyoming College, where she earned her associate’s degree in business.
Eventually, she also received a degree in human service management from Chadron State College, although that accomplishment “took a while to get,” as she was also working a full-time job for the Department of Family Services.
In all, Zeimens spent 40 years in social services, beginning with dispatch work at the local police department, followed by becoming a bookkeeper for DFS starting in April 1977. She was the youngest public assistance worker in the state in 1978, which progressed into a position as public assistance supervisory worker in 1981. She officially retired in May 2017.
“I think what maybe keyed my interest was being able to provide people in need with an option,” Zeimens said. “In growing up, I wouldn’t say that I was by any means without … we had enough food, we were cared for, but we knew the value of money, we knew what respect was, we knew what work ethic was – my parents taught me all that. We followed through – if we started a project we had to finish it … through that, I thought maybe I had a gift to be able share with people to have some sort of control over their future and help them make decisions that would affect their life.
“One thing that my folks taught us, is the fact you always want to leave something in better condition than when you found it,” she continued. “(As well as) kindness, that saying about walking a mile in somebody else’s shoes – you don’t know where those people have been, what circumstances they’ve been in.”
Blazing a trail
When she wasn’t following her professional passion, Zeimens could be found on the court or in the field – pioneering for female athletes in this area.
“I actually refereed volleyball for 30 years, for college and high school games,” she said. “I started out refereeing as a freshman in college up here, at EWC. Verl Petsch was my teacher, and I was a walk-on for volleyball team. This was in the ‘70s, and the first volleyball team for EWC. I played, but I wasn’t all that good. They were needing refs, and Verl came up to me … said, ‘Would you be willing to travel and referee teams?’ …. including the team I started playing on. I remember one time, there was a program that had me listed both as a player and as a referee.”
Zeimens refereed in many places, and recalled one instance when she fell and knocked herself out while refereeing a high-school volleyball game in LaGrange.
“When I came to, all the players and coaches were staring at me,” Zeimens said. “I got up … and finished the game.”
Zeimens also played (and eventually coached) softball for almost 30 years, beginning when she was an eighth grader. She fast-pitched and was included in several state tournament wins.
During her senior year of high school in 1973, she was part of the first year of women’s basketball.
“We played Torrington twice, Huntley twice and Lingle twice,” she said. “In all those games, I was high-point person – 19 points for all the games (combined) … I’ll never forget that.”
A transitional period
As an integral person in the transitional period to include women in sports in Goshen County, Zeimens was often met with obstacles.
“(For softball), I would go to the city and ask for permission to play on the fields up here in order for us girls to have a place to play. There weren’t softball fields for the girls,” she said, adding the city granted her team permission. “(A man) came up to me and said it was a boys’ field and girls couldn’t play on it … I told him I had permission from the city to do that, and he came at me with a baseball bat. It was a constant battle.
“In volleyball, (the girls’ team) had to make our own shirts,” Zeimens continued. “We purchased green sweatshirts … and painted on our names and numbers ourselves. In basketball, we wore the boys’ old basketball jerseys – we put on a t-shirt underneath and wore our own pants … you made due, we wanted to play.”
Despite opposition, Zeimens said she and the girls she played with and coached simply wanted the same opportunities as men.
“I think it was just fair – we weren’t asking to be treated differently,” she explained. “When I worked on the farm, I worked like any of my brothers as the opportunity existed. Often, I had to be in the house because my mother went out and worked like a man, and I had to stay and help take care of my little brother. But I was given the opportunity, basically, to do the exact same thing … we just needed to be afforded the same opportunities.
“Growing up during that transitional period when women started going out to work (as opposed to being housewives) … I felt like I had more to give, and I wanted to do something more,” Zeimens said. “I knew that farming and ranching would not be my forté, especially with three brothers … I needed to go and make a way for myself. The way I knew to do that was the way I was taught – to be assertive in the skills I had … to do the right things, to be honest, to be kind, follow through, be respectful, and have faith. My parents instilled in me faith, love and charity.”
Fondest memories
“My fondest memories of growing up include family, of course,” Zeimens said. “Our Sunday outings – we always used to have go to church, and after church we’d go get an ice cream cone – we sold our cream at the creamery here, they had wonderful ice cream – and go grab some bread and bologna … and then we’d go for a drive and visit somebody. Dad and mom were always pretty adamant about visiting people who were lonely or down on their luck. We hardly ever went on any family vacations … you can’t when you have cattle to take care of, so our mini-vacations were usually on Sundays.”
Zeimens mused these small acts of charity growing up likely encouraged her career in social work, adding, even after retirement, “I’m still not ready to give up my passion.”
Volunteer work and awards
To that end, she volunteers on a national board called NEW PATHS: National Eligibility Workers Association; serves with the Aging Advisory Council; is a lifetime member of the Beta Sigma Phi social sorority; and currently is working on the committee for the Apollo Lunar Landing anniversary.
Zeimens also helped create the workforce development center at the college and previously served on the emergency management team for disaster training.
In addition to the Special Person Award from the Torrington Volunteer Fire Department for collecting toys for area youth, Zeimens has also received the Big Chief Award from the Goshen County Chamber of Commerce and the Wyoming Extension Homemakers Council Unsung Hero Award.
She and her husband, George – who manages the Western History Center between Lingle and Fort Laramie – developed the Expanding Environments program 32 years ago, in which approximately 600 students have learned life skills by maintaining archaeological sites in the area.
“You get out of something what you put into it,” Zeimens said. “You make your own way – you can’t expect people to make your way for you. Sometimes you just need to know when to say when. (Life) is all about building relationships, and treating people with some respect.”
