From Farm to FOREVER: Meet Lil Hofflander

You can take the girl out of the farm, but you can’t take the farm out of the girl, and in Lil Hofflander’s case, that’s a very good thing. Lil, the oldest of eight children, grew up on a dairy farm in Hamel, near Medina, Minnesota. She says the values she learned, and her jam-packed lifestyle gave her a solid foundation for life. Lil preserved some of those memories with a used Brownie camera her mom bought her as an elementary student. Lil’s been preserving memories ever since.

Life on the Farm

Lil’s dad milked 40-50 cows twice a day with help from his family, Lil led the way. She helped raise her siblings, while assisting her dad with chores. This includes helping birth 20-30 calves over the years.

Her parents taught their children the value of teamwork. That taught her how to get along with people. “Life isn’t just all about ‘you.’ We’re all helping each other.”

So, life was busy on the farm, from tending to cows and milk, to baling hay, to picking rocks, to planting. They grew corn, soybeans and hay. The corn became silage (fermented animal feed) for the cows. They baled straw for cow bedding, which they changed daily. No wonder life on the farm was busy.

Memories: Demolishing Old Barns, Hayrides and Bonfires

Lil also remembers the family taking apart an old, dilapidated barn (with permission) to use the oak boards to build a house on their farm. Lil’s job was to pull all the square nails out of the boards. “That was a hard job,” Lil says.

Other great memories are family bonfires and hayrides. They also had an annual picnic hosted by horse riders who used a path on their farmland to ride. They set up a huge annual picnic and barbecue at the park with lots of fun and laughter.

After High School

Upon graduation, Lil worked at a local grocer. From there, Lil moved to Gamble’s hardware store and then corporate headquarters in St. Louis Park, Minnesota. She became secretary for 20-plus years, and met her husband, Mark, there, too.

The couple have been married 42-plus years and have two daughters, a grandson and a granddaughter. In summer, they take them fishing—every week. The grandkids love it—sweltering heat or not—so the grandparents tolerate the heat in exchange for broad smiles, fish and laughter.

Preserving Memories

Lil was a scrapbooker. She met Beth Gibson Lilja in 2010 at CAMPCropuhapi Project Retreat. Lil was hooked. “Staying overnight with a bunch of fun women? What’s not to love about that? We talked and laughed ‘till 4 AM—and loved every minute of it.”

Lil admires Beth’s attitude. “If Beth doesn’t know something—she promises to find out and get back...and she always does,” says Lil. “Beth’s patient and so helpful.” Now Lil is a FOREVER® Ambassador. With all those brothers and sisters, two daughters and grandchildren—you can imagine the photos. What’s next? For Lil, it’s more of the same: family, friends and photography. What’s not to love about that?