Doris Plocher grew up in three different houses on Walnut Street in Chaska, and is known as Dorie to family and friends. She graduated from Chaska high school in 1970, married Bruce Coghill and moved to Jordan. She and her husband recently moved to a new house back into Carver County. For all of you old-time Chaska people, Bruce’s uncle was Father Elston Coghill - a priest at Guardian Angels Catholic Church in the 1960s.
In the mid 2000s Dorie came to the Historical Society to see if they needed another volunteer. She was assigned to help with the input of data into the new museum collection software that the society had started using. Dorie quickly graduated to the role of resident computer wizard when all of the computers were infected with a virus. No good deed goes unpunished, so managing the Society’s initial web site and coordinating computer updates with the city Information Technology department were also added to her duties. With energy still available, Dorie has worked as the Society’s Treasurer and has held Board positions. A few years ago, she even tried her hand at curating the toy exhibit at the History Center.
In her corporate life Dorie worked as an accounting manager, an auditor and programmer. In 2000 her employer moved their headquarters to Florida and offered her a transfer. She took a severance package instead, and Dorie has often said that getting laid off was one of the best things that could have happened to her.
While she was employed Dorie had sold items at craft fairs and used vacations to teach classes for her jewelry designs. After she got laid off she decided to go into the bead business full time, and started a web site mail-order business. That same year she started working as a sales rep for a bead company and teaching jewelry design. She also became a show promotor and started her own bead show here in Minneapolis.
Dorie enjoys travel so much that she signed up to work for Beadventure Tours that organizes bead-related tours all over the world. Dorie leads the tours to the Czech Republic, where many of the beads sold in the USA are made. Between traveling for her corporate job and her bead tours and shows, she has visited six continents and 49 states.
Contact information: 952-856-1795
Doris Coghill / Dee's Place, LLC / www.beadsbydee.com, dcoghill@frontiernet.net
By Neil Wingert for the Chaska Historical Society