Building a life above and below the Black Hills

In 1974, William “Bill” Geffre steered his motorcycle west from the eastern plains of South Dakota to the Black Hills. There, his cousin encouraged him to get a job at Homestake Gold Mine (Homestake). At the time, Homestake was the deepest, most productive gold mine in the United States, and the company defined the economy and daily life of those who lived in and around Lead. Geffre, an outdoorsman, reluctantly signed on “just for the winter,” swearing to find a job outside as soon as weather allowed.

Now, just days before his retirement from Sanford Underground Research Facility (Sanford Lab), Geffre reflected on how that temporary job turned into a career spanning four decades at the underground facility.

Building a life above and below the Black Hills

Geffre mined at Homestake from 1974 until 2002. He worked on multiple levels throughout the expansive mine, from the “upper country clear down to the 7400 foot-level.”

While Geffre experienced many different styles of mining and adapted to advances in mining technology at Homestake, one thing was a constant: “My partner, Mike Mead, and I worked together for 20 years there. He was a good partner, efficient, and we got along really well. That’s what makes the world go ‘round down there, having a good partner that you can trust to watch your back while you watched theirs.”

Geffre said work in the facility was physically demanding, but he kept a good attitude about the challenge: “I always said ‘It’s mind over matter; if you don't mind, it doesn't really matter, as long as you do it safely.’”

In 2002, Geffre took first place in the jackleg drilling competition at Homestake’s final 4^th of July celebration, winning a jackleg of his own, a cash prize and, of course, bragging rights.

Years working underground didn’t keep Geffre from enjoying the outdoors. Geffre, who snowshoes and ice fishes in the winter and hikes, backpacks and fishes in the summer, calls the Black Hills community “a haven.” After long days outdoors, Geffre was known to keep the classics—from Johnny Cash to Garth Brooks—alive at local karaoke nights.

Retrofitting the facility for science  

Near the end of the twentieth century, the gold market suffered and Homestake was forced to lay off the majority of their staff in 1998. Geffre stayed with Homestake until its final days, working underground until the mine official closed in 2002.

Geffre then continued in the mining industry, working for Coeur Wharf Mine for over five years. But 2007, the facility that had once been Homestake Gold Mine was beginning its transformation into an underground research facility. After remaining untouched for years, the facility was to be reopened.

Hearing this, Geffre joined Dynatech, the contracting company initially tasked with reopening and reinforcing the infrastructure of the mile-deep Ross and Yates Shafts. With Dynatech, he returned to the same drifts he had worked in previously for 28 years.

In 2008, Geffre joined Sanford Lab’s underground access team as an infrastructure technician. With this team, he worked to prepare spaces for science across the 4850 Level. First, the team expanded the Davis Campus, excavating rock, installing ground support and shot-concreting the walls. The team paved the way for laboratory spaces that now host advanced searches for dark matter particles and rare neutrino processes.

With the Davis Campus completed, the underground access team moved across the 4850 Level, transforming old machine shops and utility rooms into spaces that now hold a particle accelerator, a low background counting facility and the 4850 Level Refuge Chamber.

More recently, the team rehabilitated the ramp that connects the 4850 Level to the 4100 Level for transportation and ventilation purposes. Geffre also provided support services to Kiewit-Alberici Joint Venture as they prepare Sanford Lab to house the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment.

From reopening the shafts to supporting pre-excavation for the world’s flagship neutrino experiment, Geffre has been on the ground floor, preparing Sanford Lab for the cutting-edge research it now hosts.

Looking forward

As he retires, Geffre is looking forward to more of the outdoor adventures that have always brought him fulfillment.

“I'm looking forward to doing a lot of fishing, mostly walleye fishing with my family. I’ll take my Harley out, for sure. I wouldn't mind going up to Alaska for a bit. I like riding in the Bighorns, hiking and camping… So yeah, I think I'll stay busy,” Geffre said with a chuckle.

Reflecting on his career at Homestake and Sanford Lab, Geffre said, “Having a positive attitude really goes a long way for making it a good day. Good employees, good friends, that’s what we are really all working for.”