OUR UNCLE HENRY HOFFMAN

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PICTURED ABOVE: A young Mary Frances Corcoran (left), Earl Kanis (center) and their friend Henry Hoffman (right)

In telling this particular piece of family lore about our Uncle Henry Hoffman, it's important to note two things. First, Henry wasn't really our uncle and secondly, his name wasn't really Henry.

Walter "Henry" Hoffman was my father’s childhood friend. He did not care at all for his given name of Walter so he took the name of Henry instead, the origin of which is not known. As a young man, Henry loved to travel to Florida. Prior to WWII Henry even moved there for a short stint working for a Buick Dealer. With the war in Europe escalating, Henry soon moved back to Cincinnati where he and my father enlisted together in the U.S. Army. While dad went off to serve in Europe, Henry served in the Army Balloon Corp where he surveilled Nazi submarines from observation blimps off the coast of Cuba.

Back in America, my mother was supporting the war effort and was working at Jurgens (now Kao) in Cincinnati, Ohio. This is where she met our Aunt Jenn. Jenn was newly married at the time and with both of their husbands "off at war" the two became fast friends. Sadly, in late 1944, Jenn learned that her husband had been killed in the Battle of the Bulge. As a result, Jenn suffered from severe depression.

After the War both Earl and Henry returned to Cincinnati. While Earl joined the Kanis family business Henry worked for several auto dealerships including Schott - Lippert Buick and Gatchet Chevrolet. One weekend, my mother thought it would be a good idea for Jenn and Henry to meet. So mom arranged for them to go on a double date. They had the best of times together. Henry and Jenn were soon married.

Early in their marriage, Uncle Henry and Aunt Jenn lived in a second floor apartment in Norwood, Ohio on Forest Avenue. Coincidently, Gene and Doe Corcoran, my real aunt and uncle, lived in the attic apartment just above them. Gene was a struggling college student attending the University of Cincinnati. My Aunt Doe recalls Henry Hoffman always being very caring, bringing them groceries from time to time to help them out. Doe said she will always grateful for their help.

It was post World War II America and suburbs were popping up everywhere. Uncle Henry and Aunt Jenn, now with their two daughters Beverly and Julie, were in need of more room. So they purchased a cottage style house with a detached garage in suburban Newtown, Ohio. Soon after, my parents moved to nearby Cherry Grove, Ohio and the party continued. I remember many a Saturday night when Uncle Henry and Aunt Jenn came out to the McLean Drive house to have “high balls” with my mom and dad up in the living room while the Hoffmann and Kanis kids watched television down in the family room.

Henry only had a sixth grade education. But being very industrious and having a great personality he became successful. Soon after moving to the suburbs he saw that everyone had a lawn mower but most did not understand how to maintain them and keep them running. Uncle Henry saw the opportunity to capitalize on this. He soon opened a lawnmower repair shop working out of his garage in Newtown.

Henry also developed, marketed and sold the first flat rate labor manual for lawn mower engines. He was familiar with the use of such manuals form his automotive experience. He printed the manuals on a mimeograph machine and sold them through ads in Mechanics Illustrated magazine. He was amazed at the demand for them at $5.00 each and made a lot of money for that time.

Using his knowledge of lawn mower engines, Henry also built and sold some of the first go-carts in Cincinnati. I remember his daughters making the front page of the Cincinnati Enquirer one Sunday morning with a photo of them racing go carts around the parking lot at of the Kenwood Shopping Center.

When American Motors and Willys merged, Henry ended up taking a corporate job managing the Jeep parts warehouse in Plymouth Michigan. Around the same time I was transferred to Michigan with Ford Motor Company. I ended up living not too far from Uncle Henry and Aunt Jenn for a time and the friendship and parties continued. We had some great times together including many outings on Uncle Henry's boat and even a few plane rides together.

Henry learned of a new opportunity inside American Motors and took a transfer to Florida as the southeast regional accessory sales rep. This was his dream job. Soon after, I was transferred to Atlanta with Ford Motor Company. When Uncle Henry came to the Atlanta area on business he would always find the time to visit with me and my family in Roswell. We would have dinner together often and had some great times.

Sadly, Henry's oldest daughter Beverly, died suddenly of a heart attack in the 1980’s. According to Henry's youngest daughter Julie, this broke Henry's spirit. She told me he was never the same again.  Henry retired and lived out his last years in Bradenton, Florida where he worked part time for an American Motors Dealer. Uncle Henry Hoffman died in Bradenton in 1988. My Aunt Jenn remained in Florida for many years. She lived well into her 90's and passed away in 2015.

- contributed by Jerry Kanis