Leaving a Legacy, or Lloyd and Myrtle Hoffman

 

Leaving a Legacy, or Lloyd and Myrtle Hoffman

That small garden I stumbled upon on the way to the beach in Manzanita was completely unexpected.

We had parked in a town with a population of 603 permanent residents and two hundred thousand annual summer tourists. The town is neat and tidy, but you don't expect to see such a well-kept, thoughtfully planned garden on the outskirts.

It was small, just like the town itself. Clearly set up on someone's property in front of a house on one of the main streets leading to the beach and the ocean. At first, I was a bit afraid to even walk through the garden, thinking it was someone's private yard.

It was so well-maintained, everything was so perfectly arranged, and everything was in bloom (it was getting cold, Indian summer, early September—you don't expect such flowering).

But you wouldn't put up plant name signs on your own property, and then I saw a larger sign: "Hoffman Garden."

My daughter and her husband had walked ahead, and I didn't want to make them wait, but I also didn't want to leave without seeing it.

(I know myself; if I don't go, don't look, don't take a picture, it will stay in my memory for a long time, demanding a return to that place, and it's hard to forget what I didn't do, if it's even possible at my age. You start thinking, "If I don't do it now, I'll never do it in my life," so I rush. Is it the same for you?)

I asked the kids for five or ten minutes, hurried through the garden, and now I've found some information (although not much). The photos aren't the best; it was a cloudy day, and my time for shooting was limited.

Walk with me; I want to tell you about the Hoffmans—what I know, what I found, even if it's just a few lines. I want to prove to you that you can leave a good legacy, even without a lot of money. And not just a memory, but something that will help other people and bring joy to those who come after you.

And I also wanted to show how convenient and beautiful a small urban space can be. It's not pretentious or modern, but cozy, a place where you can comfortably sit with a cup of coffee.

So, Lloyd and Myrtle Hoffman—everything I could find about the lives of these two people in three days of searching online. (Write about yourselves, or else someone like me will start struggling to find information later, and it simply won't be there.)

Lloyd was born in 1908 in Lake Bronson, Minnesota. Myrtle was born in 1910 in Portland, Oregon. They both grew up in Portland and then moved to Manzanita, where they lived until the end of their days, judging by a few lines about them on the Hoffman Center for the Arts in Manzanita website. 

(I'm still looking for where they studied...) Lloyd Hoffman attended a junior college in California, possibly in Hollister, from 1929 to 1931. After that, he enrolled at the University of California, Berkeley, where he studied for two years. He earned a bachelor's degree and two master's degrees: in history and in art.

According to an article in Oregon ArtsWatch, Lloyd Hoffman was a professional sign painter, and his wife, Myrtle, worked as a secretary.

(In the few lines about them on the Hoffman Center website, their professions were "embellished": they wrote that Lloyd was an artist and Myrtle was a pianist. It's possible, but you can't make a living from that.)

I couldn't find where Myrtle got her education, but I have no doubt she played the piano. Lloyd and Myrtle were married for 42 years.

They both retired in 1973 and moved to Manzanita, Oregon. I found that Lloyd hosted life drawing classes in their home.

They did not have children. But it's interesting that the Hoffmans were members of the Kiwanis Club.

(I asked an AI what kind of club this was. It turns out the Kiwanis Club, founded in 1915, is still active, helping with various projects related to children, such as building playgrounds and parks, providing scholarships to needy students, organizing events for children with special needs, and running charitable food drives for families with children. It also supports children's hospitals.)

They were also active members of the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW). (The Veterans of Foreign Wars of the U.S. is the largest public organization helping veterans. I couldn't find information about Lloyd Hoffman's participation in World War II, although there were veterans with that surname.)

Lloyd Hoffman died at the age of 91, about 4.5 years before his wife. The Hoffman Center website lists the death date for the couple as 2004. This is likely "generalized" information, as their donation to establish the Hoffman Center was made after their deaths.

Myrtle Hoffman died in 2004 at the age of 94, which means Lloyd died in 1999.

Why is this important? Because you just have to treat people with respect. The article I'm writing now shouldn't have been written by me, but by someone back in 2004 when the center was just getting started, when people who knew the Hoffmans were still alive, when there were still photographs somewhere in their house...

I'm not scolding anyone; I just regret that no one thought about it. Now I'm scrounging on the internet, gathering crumbs of information. It's a shame. They didn't leave a huge inheritance, by the way (especially by modern standards). According to available information, Lloyd and Myrtle Hoffman left their house and $197,000 in cash. (Today, houses in Manzanita cost $600,000 to $700,000 or more, but at the beginning of this century, it was about half that amount.) One article mentions that their house was unfit for public use and had to be torn down.

The proceeds from their inheritance were used as the initial payment for the building where the center operates to this day.

Lloyd and Myrtle Hoffman were modest but generous people who left behind a legacy that extends beyond their personal lives.

They were a driving force that helped the Manzanita community get a place to gather for creative activities, where volunteers still hold weekly life drawing classes, and where poets and writers living on the coast meet.

Their dream came to life thanks to the efforts of local residents, and the Hoffman Center for the Arts is now an important cultural hub in Manzanita.

(The sky is gray, so you can't see it, but this is a "sculpture" made of shovels and rakes; you could even make one for yourself!)

I looked at their program for this year: life drawing classes, meetings with writers, seminars, art exhibitions...

And this is all in a very small house, in a very small town.

And with only one paid employee! According to 2024 data, they have only one full-time employee, the executive director, who is responsible for management. The rest of the work is done mainly by volunteers. The center's website says that more than a hundred volunteers are involved in its success!

Even if you just walk by, say thanks, just like I did.

Hoffman Center for the arts in Manzanita

https://hoffmanarts.org/about/

Oh, if only it had been a sunny day, the photos would have been illuminated, playing with colors against the blue sky. I would have been able to convey the charm of this place! It didn't work out... but at least I can remember and say thank you to these people.