Oregon150

Colleen Stoudt’s story,
as told to and transcribed by Leslie Bourke
The “Oral History at ElderPlace” project
Portland, OR

Soon after I sat down with Mrs. Colleen Stoudt at the Providence ElderPlace, I learned that it was Australia Day. It was a fitting day for the interview since Colleen was born in Millaa Millaa, Australia in 1926. She had moved to the states with her husband, first to Michigan and then to Oregon, but I could see that her birthplace helped define the person who sat before me.

As a young girl, Colleen lived on a 25,000 acre cattle farm. She enjoyed riding her own horse, as did her brother and sister. She described a river that flowed through the property. Sifting the waters would sometimes reveal gold. Colleen’s father, John Thomas Hoffman, displayed a nonchalant attitude about the gold. “Let the help have it,” he would say. “You can’t take it with you; it’s long gone.”

One day her father encountered a yellow belly snake. The snake had just eaten a chicken. Rather than let the snake digest the meal, Jack Hoffman dissected it and freed the still-lively chicken. The bird ruffled its feathers and walked away as if nothing had happened. Jack then sewed the snake up. The reptile may have lost a meal, but it slithered away, stitched up and still alive. Colleen swore this story was true.

Her father fought in the Boer War in Africa and in World War I. Queen Victoria decorated him for his service. A medal and a box of chocolates from the Queen held places of honor in the household. Colleen and her siblings were told never to touch the chocolates.

When her mother became ill from cancer, her father moved the family to the more populated Brisbane for treatment. Colleen was only 9 years old when her mother died. Her father kept the family in Brisbane and went into construction work.

Colleen went to school and eventually became a dancer. She met her husband, Andrew Stoudt, at a dance studio and married him at 18 years of age. Colleen agreed to accompany him to his home in Battle Creek, Michigan.

While sailing across the Pacific, they stopped at several islands. Colleen wanted to arrive in America with a fresh set of clothes, so she decided New Zealand would be a convenient place to have her dresses cleaned. The cleaning process took much longer than she expected. The ship started to pull away with many of her clothes still in New Zealand. At the last possible second, a boy ran towards the ship and into the water. He held her dresses over his head and delivered them to the much-relieved and grateful Colleen.

After landing in San Francisco, they took a train to Battle Creek, Michigan. Here Colleen began her career as a tailor. She continued tailoring for many years and worked at Meier & Frank and JC Penney’s. Andrew earned a living primarily in construction. Nine years later, he decided that Oregon would be a better place to live, and the couple moved to Portland. They bought a house in the St. John’s neighborhood.

Colleen has lived in Portland ever since. Her husband died in 1980, and she adapted to an independent way of life.

She tells me she likes living at the Providence ElderPlace. She’s resided there since she had a fall about a year ago. Her daughter, a computer operator at an insurance company, lives only a mile away and visits often.

In her spare time, Colleens enjoys reading ancient history. She admits to practicing both Catholicism and Scientology. She enjoys attending the Scientologist Church when possible.

Colleen also loves writing poetry. She has had several poems published. As a great cat lover, she wrote a poem for a fellow resident entitled, “Geraldine My Feline Queen.” Her current cat, Pumpkin, live upstairs in her apartment. This cat adores Colleen and is dismayed when her owner goes downstairs.

At the end of our conversation, Colleen asked, “I hope I didn’t bore you with all these details?” I assured her the opposite was true. I found her stories to be fascinating, and it was a joy to spend the morning of Australia Day in conversation with her. I will not soon forget the snake with stitches, the boy with dresses held over his head, or Colleen herself, a delightful Oregonian, with a rich history all her own.