Carl Von Hoffman - Personal Life

Personal Life

Carl often recalls the many colorful and prominent early Club members with whom he had a close relationship, such as Martin Johnson, Peter Freuchen, Lowell Thomas, Bernt Balchen, and others. As a friend of Martin Johnson, he attempted to prevail upon him to remain in New York for the Annual Dinner on the eve of Johnson's fateful flight. Unable to stay the extra day, he left and was aboard the flight that resulted in his death. Martin Johnson died in the crash of a Western Air Express Boeing 247 commercial flight near Newhall, California in 1937.

In addition to work in the fields of ethnology, anthropology and cinematology, that has seen him carry the club flag into far-flung places and visits to primitive people, he was the founder of the Club's Safari Dinners. These dinners were a popular feature of the lecture series for a long time. Some of the specialties at these dinners might be such items as: giant salmon (from Alaska); a variety of big game (provided by friends); cases of beer (from a Scandinavian source); and last, but not least, Carl's famous cream cheese and peanut butter spread dip. He also initiated many of the early annual dinners held at the Plaza, which were a great success.

His legendary devotion to the Club as committee chairman and board member is well known. Over the years, his untiring efforts and presence at Club functions and work projects have contributed much to the Club and its members.

His friendship with Albert Einstein and the brother of the Dali (sic) Lama brought them to the Club to attend lectures, which events have been remembered by those members of long standing.

An in-depth conversation with Carl has been taped over a period of months. These tapes cover most of his activities, including a stint while still a cadet in the Russo-Japanese War in 1904, winning the medal of St. George for getting a vital message through the lines, and later his experience in the revolution and his miraculous recovery from typhus fever in the last days of the Russian revolution in Siberia. Carl had served as a Lieutenant in the U. S. Signal Corp during World War I and after the Armistice had joined an American unit to fight in the White Army with Admiral Kolchak. These tapes are in greater detail than this account and will be made part of the Club Archives.