Hoffman Appalachian Farm

Saint Marys has a long, rich history. Founded on December 8, 1842 by Bavarian Roman Catholics, it has remained a small, tight knit community. With a population of approximately 13,000 residents, our heritage derives from a small group of men and women that were seeking the ability to practice their religion freely, a freedom they could not find back in Europe nor in some of the larger Eastern US cities such as Baltimore or Philadelphia. Early founders sought to honor the Blessed virgin Mary when the town was named Sanct Marienstadt (“Holy Town of Mary”). Additionally, the first Benedictine convent was founded in Saint Marys and three separate Catholic parishes and schools eventually were established along with a number of parishes by other Christian denominations such as Methodists and Episcopalians. The economic growth of the town was originally tied to the lumber and mining industries. In the early 1900’s however, investments and developments were being made in the burgeoning carbon graphite and powdered metal industries. Today the region still has a high concentration of businesses working either directly or indirectly in those realms. Ironically for us at the Farm, original settlers found the region not particularly suited to agricultural endeavors given the quality of the soils and the hilly terrain and as such, farming has never been one of our better known attributes. Our family was and is like many families in Saint Marys…raised Catholic, somewhat large in number (seven children in our family) as well as very close to both our immediate and extended family members and the community as a whole. I, Joshua, am the sixth of those seven children of John & Snooks (Hoffman) Brock. My father John grew up in a family of eight and was raised almost exclusively by his Mother, Edna Brock. Edna was the kind, gentle, rock solid faith foundation and matriarch of the Brock side of the family until her passing at age 98 in December of 2011. It is my Mother’s side from which both the name of the Farm and the land itself are derived. Ray and Helen Hoffman moved to the land where the Farm currently sits in the mid-1950’s. It was previously farmed by the Swanson family with horses for grain and corn. My grandparents however did not Farm the land when they acquired it and most of the fields sat idle until the late 1980’s, after my grandparents had both passed and we moved from town out to the Farm. My father entered in long term lease with two nearby Farmers for their use of the land for conventional crops. This kept the fields in good condition, relatively weed free and laid the ground work for our hops and specialty grains. I spent my formative years like many other kids in town…team sports, school, church, summer jobs. One job in particular that helped sparked my interest in the outdoors and sustainable farming was working at my Grandparents doing yard work, leaves, plowing snow and other small jobs. My older brothers also took on this responsibility before I did, so we have always had an attachment to this place. After high school, I attended Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. Saint Vincent and Saint Marys have always had incredibly close ties given their shared history of escaping religious persecution. As well, all of the priests that staff the Catholic parishes came from Saint Vincent and many young boys from town left to become monks and priests. Many of the young women from the community of Saint Marys also entered Saint Joseph’s Convent there in town. After college, I worked in Pittsburgh in both the Broadcasting and Energy industries doing market research. It was during those years my love of a number of outdoor interests such as backpacking, climbing and canoeing really began to talk hold. In 2003 I decided it was time to leave the Mid-Atlantic and do a little exploring, so I packed up my Durango, my canoe, bikes, backpacks and headed on a two month cross country trip with the final destination being Fairbanks,