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Karen & Jim Gray
Sponsored by
The Getup
Save the planet and your wallet! Shop our hand-curated, like-new selection of secondhand clothing and gear for the entire family – from newborn all the way up to adult, plus maternity, shoes, and toys! We buy and sell brands like Patagonia, Gap, Cat & Jack, American Eagle Outfitters, Nike, Lands’ End, and more. The Getup: Community Powered Sustainable Styles. Find great deals in-store or online!
Scattered across the beautiful, rural farmlands of bluff country are lots of barns. Rustic barns, pole barns, even a few round barns, all used for many things. A highlight of Spring Grove, Minnesota’s Uffda Fest, the town’s annual October celebration of autumn, is a barn dance held in, of course, a barn. But not just any old barn. We’re talking “Ye Olde Gray Barn,” located on the property of long-time residents and barn namesakes Jim and Karen Gray. The Grays are community-builders par excellence, with the Uffda Fest barn dance being just one project they’ve been involved in over many years.
The husband-and-wife team have lots in common. Both grew up on family farms near Riceville in northern Iowa. After meeting in high school (“we went to her junior prom,” Jim, now 84, remembers fondly) and later getting married, both graduated from Iowa State, and soon moved to Minnesota. Both love small-town life and making a positive difference in the place they call home. Married for 63 years, people know and love the Grays as the inseparable couple they are.
They’re also different. Dr. Jim became a veterinarian whose James Herriott-like career of doctoring animals and enjoying deep friendship with farm families spanned 50 years to the day. Karen’s double-major in Speech-Theater and English led to her teaching school, then becoming a stay-at-home mom, supporting her husband’s practice, and actively promoting the arts.
The Grays merge their differing interests and skills (fueled by their shared generosity) in unique, even remarkable ways. That brings us back to their barn. “I came home from work and found Karen in a group of women talking about local theater,” Jim recalls. “They had ideas and enthusiasm; what they didn’t have was a theater. I jokingly suggested, ‘why don’t you do it in our barn?’ Minutes later we were all out there seeing if that could work. Turns out it did!”
The Gray’s barn, Karen’s background in theater, Jim’s carpenter skills, and dedicated volunteers combined to create “Ye Olde Gray Barn,” a beloved venue for summer plays in Spring Grove for the past 46 years. Their first production, Annie Get Your Gun was on a small, indoor stage with balcony seating. The following year, Jim and other volunteers expanded the stage and borrowed bleachers from the local football field for outdoor seating. Shows like Oklahoma (1983), Annie (1989), Cabaret (1998), Little Shop of Horrors (2015), and 2025’s Something Rotten have consistently delivered what’s been described as “Broadway energy in a barn!” Karen has been a producer for several shows; Dr. Jim is general groundskeeper and occasional actor. “I sang in the Music Man barbershop quartet,” he says, “but my easiest role was playing the dead guy in ‘Lucky Stiff!’”
Local theater is only one of many community-building efforts the Grays have initiated. Another group discussion – “I end up in a lot of those!” Karen says with a laugh – and Jim’s tool-belt and carpentry know-how helped lead to the 2007 opening of the Bluff Country Artist Gallery, showcasing the work of nearly 70 local artists and offering special exhibits and classes for all ages.
The Gray’s visionary support was also integral to the creation of the Giants of the Earth Heritage Center. The Center promotes Spring Grove’s history as Minnesota’s first Norwegian settlement through genealogical research, the collection of oral histories, a language and culture camp each summer, and other special programs. Both Grays currently serve on the Giants board.
Jim and Karen also founded “Spring Grove Area – Past, Present and Future,” a non-profit with a mission to stimulate local business growth and tourism.
They worked with internationally honored sculptor Craig Bergsgaard (Spring Grove High, Class of ‘70) to create two life-size bronze statues of beloved Norwegian cartoon characters Ola and Per that now stand in Viking Memorial Park in the center of town. Drawn in the early 1900s by Spring Grove native Peter J. Rosendahl, those statues attract lots of attention. “One day I saw a man taking pictures of Ola and Per,” says Karen. “I asked if he’d like a photo with him in it and he lit up! He grew up reading those comics and was so excited to visit Spring Grove. A wonderful moment of serendipity.”
The Gray’s influence extends beyond Spring Grove, as well. Minnesota Governor Rudy Perpich appointed Karen to the Minnesota State Arts Board where she served three years as chair. Later she helped organize “Minnesota Historic Bluff Country,” a coalition of 22 Southeast Minnesota communities to encourage tourism. And Jim is a member of the famed Luren Singing Society of Decorah. “When I joined 35 years ago, I was the only singer from Spring Grove. Now there are 14 of us with Spring Grove roots, the second largest group outside Decorah from any one area.”
The Grays have done so much for so long. Are they thinking of slowing down? Hardly. They’re helping produce and promote “Dear Land…Norwegian Ridge at a Crossroads,” a Giants of the Earth movie set to premiere at the Spring Grove Cinema on November 1, 2025. They’re also exploring a major commemorative project with sculptor Bergsgaard called “Honoring Farm Families.” Stay tuned!
Learning about Jim and Karen Gray’s extraordinary commitment to their hometown makes you wonder: Why do they do all this? What motivates their community-building? You ask, hoping for a deep, philosophical explanation. The answer you get is simple. “We came here with nothing,” says Jim. “Everything we have we owe to this community. We want to give back. It’s just who we are.”
