Constance Audrey Hoffman

Constance Audrey Hoffman was born May 30, 1919 in Phillips South Dakota to Leander and Anne (Pearl) Miley. Connie met her Lord December 11,th 2023 at the age of 104. The last week of her life was spent at the Hopewell House, a wonderful home for individuals on hospice services at the end of life.

Leander was a hired hand, so they moved a lot. Growing up in those days wasn’t easy! Connie and her sister Nina were his helping hands wherever they settled. They’d eat breakfast at 6:00 AM and take a jug of water to the woods with Dad. They would cut the tree down and they piled the trimmings and corded the 4 foot lengths of wood. They returned home for supper at 6:00 PM.

A garden of yellow wax beans, white dry beans and potatoes were always planted. They hoed, pulled weeds and picked potato bugs into a can with kerosene as they couldn’t afford the dusting powder for them. When they’d plant tomatoes Connie and Nina would have to check the plant for 3 inch long, fat, green worms with horns on their head and a sticker on their rear. They had to knock them off and squash them whenever they were spotted.

Another task they had to do was pick up cow chips for heat, and don’t forget the corn cobs… A bucket full for the kitchen stove and one for the outhouse along with the catalog.

Connie and Nina had fun traveling together. Nina was always the stronger, braver one doing the fun things like entertaining Connie when walking across an old wooden ridge on the way to school, Nin would cross the bridge balanced on the 4 inch railing. Connie and Nina were only 14 months apart in age.

Connie was a little bit chubby? So her uncle Bill liked to tease her and sing: “A possum up a gummy stump, a raccoon up a holler, a little girl at our house so fat she can’t waller.” People liked to tease Connie, so she would always turn her head away. This is probably why she remained shy most of her life.

In 1993, while still in South Dakota, grasshoppers were taking over crops, flying from one place to another. One big cloud flew over their home even though they didn’t have any grain for them to land in, they still had hoppers all over the place. They even ate the cork out of their water jug! In Lake Andes, South Dakota the streets and sidewalks were full of grasshoppers, dead and alive. This is when they decided to come to Oregon, as their neighbor lady below them had a daughter and family there, and she said she would share expenses. They didn’t have a car so Leander went out and found an old shift car. He’d never driven one before, but they packed their clothes, quilts and water jug in the car and then the 8 of them piled in. Pearl holding 5 month old Robbie (Bob), Leander, Nina, Connie, Donnie, Evelyn and Mrs. Jasper, their neighbor who sat in the front with Leander. They jerked along until Leander got into the rhythm of shifting.

They made it up and down and around those curves of the Old Oregon Trail as far as the Vista House when a car came around the corner and crashed them into the bank. The door flew open and Pearl, who was still holding baby Robbie in her arms, flew out onto the highway. The Lord was with them! No other traffic was coming at that time and Pearl was only bruised. They arrived in Portland in 3 different cars that came along a little later.

Their dad found a small place near Hillsboro where they settled. He bought 5 milk cows and Nina and Connie would help milk them. After that they would go to the berry field and hoe berries, when they would finish with that, they would move on to the hops field. They would camp there and hoe and train the vines. The pay was $1.50 per day and was given to their mother and father to buy a cook stove. From there they found work at the Hillsboro cannery which paid 17 cents an hour. This is where Nina met Ray Lovelett and Connie met Joe Jackson. Both Nin and Connie married their significant others about a year apart. Nin and Ray had 2 girls, Carol and Nancy. Joe and Connie had 2 Girls, Joan and Marilyn. With being busy raising their families, they didn’t see each other as often. Nin lived in Portland and Connie on a big farm for 16 years. Later circumstances arose that separated Connie and Joe, and she and the girls moved to a small house near Hubbard Oregon. Two years later Connie met and married Elmer Hoffman. She sold her home in Hubbard and they built a house in Woodburn Oregon, doing most of the work themselves. They lived in the house for 9 years before Elmer wanted to build another house. When the property behind them was surveyed into lots, they bought a large lot on a slope for a basement with a one car garage drive in and double doors into the main basement, again they did most of the work themselves. The basement was 1800 square feet unfinished except the walls and concrete floor. There they had many happy gatherings of 30 or more. They also had a large yard with a lot of mowing and border flowers to keep up. Every year they had a beautiful garden. Connie canned many quarts of beans and tomatoes and froze corn off the cob. She was noted for her apple and lemon meringue pies.