Small
Hans Hoffmann arrived in Pitt Meadows, along with his parents and sister, in 1934. Then a 22 year old man and a graduate of the Trapp Technical School in New Westminster, Hans was about to embark on his career as a mechanic in this small community located 50 kilometers east of Vancouver. The Hoffmann’s were a farming family, first in Grandview, Manitoba and then Aldergrove, B.C., but Hans had a passion for machinery and the family chose Pitt Meadows as the place he would begin his long and valued career. For almost 45 years Hans worked in and then ran the family business out of 12277 Harris Road. A garage, a machine shop, a ditching and drainage business, and, for a time, the community fire hall, Hoffmann and Son Ltd. was a mainstay in the mostly agricultural community.
Starting in 1974, as he was approaching retirement age, Hans began his hobby of collecting and restoring stationary gasoline engines. By 1979, the year he retired, Hans had thirteen engines restored and had participated in his first engine show after Tom Hobbis of the Antique Farm Machinery Association asked him to contribute to a display. In the years that followed his collection grew to more than 60 engines and he would participate in shows around the community and around the province. In particular, his home town engine shows on Pitt Meadows Day and Canada Day are remembered fondly by long time residents this community.
This is an exhibit that features Hans Hoffmann, his family, his machine shop and his engines.
