Ida Ruby moved to Scio from West Linn, OR in 1966 when she married local dairy farmer Ray Ruby. The farm lifestyle came easy to Ida, as she was the second of four children born to Swiss dairy farmers Rudolph and Esther Luscher, who owned and operated a prominent registered Holstein herd in West Linn. She and Ray met while Ida was driving her father to a Holstein Association activity. At the time, she was working in the office of a large furniture manufacturing firm in Portland, but her fate as a third-generation dairy farmer was set, and Fir-Ridge Holstein Farm has been going strong ever since. The husband-and-wife team grew their dairy business together over the next 45 years, and Ida and her family have kept the farm going since Ray passed in 2010.

Soon after Ida moved to Scio she started working full-time at the local bank, milking cows before and after work. Throughout Ida’s banking career she won numerous statewide banking achievement awards for her work in setting up investment plans for people in the community. This was quite a feat coming from Scio’s rural population, up against the investment portfolios of her colleagues in the Portland metropolitan area. After a 30-year career at the bank, she retired in the mid-90’s, but would continue to apply her financial skills to many other areas of her life, including starting and growing scholarship programs and serving as a treasurer for several non-profit organizations. She has worked closely with the Scio Scholarship Foundation, Linn-Benton Dairy Women, Oregon Dairy Women, Oregon Holstein Association, Holstein Women’s Scholarship program, and she still manages all financial aspects of Fir-Ridge Holstein Farm to this day. While Ida worked full-time in her banking career, her heart was in her family and their growing dairy farm. Her two children, Scott and Michele, both graduated from Scio High School and after living in other parts of the country have returned to Scio. Ida’s greatest joy is in her nine grandchildren.

Ida has been recognized for her achievements with the OSU Diamond Pioneer Award, Holstein Association USA National Distinguished Leader Award, Oregon Dairy Women Appreciation Award, Oregon Dairy Farmers Association Community Service Award, Scio FFA Honorary Chapter Farmer Degree, and Oregon FFA Honorary State Farmer Degree to name a few.