Details

Collection Summary
Collection: FND001 - SHSND Foundation - North Dakota Heritage Family Memorial Program
Series: Tribute
Folder: DIG
Item: 23652
Title: Sebastian "Buckshot" Hoffner
Date: 1/20/1924-12/17/2015
Creator:
Inscription/Marks: 1/20/1924
Summary: “Buckshot” Hoffner was born on the family farm outside of Esmond, ND on January 20, 1924. That day being the Roman Catholic feast of Saints Fabian and Sebastian, his parents, George and Elizabeth (Pfau) Hoffner named him Sebastian Fabian. He was the eldest of 13 children. After graduating from Esmond High School, Sebastian entered the U.S. Army. During World War II, while serving in England, he met, fell in love with, and married Violet Patricia Alger, known fondly by all as “Pat.” When he was honorably discharged, she moved with him from her home in London to a farm outside of Esmond. When Sebastian returned from active service, his father was already well entrenched in Non-Partisan League (NPL) politics. It was only logical that young Sebastian, now widely known as “Buckshot”, would follow after him. He joined with the “Insurgents” – a group of young Democrats and progressives across North Dakota – to unite the Democratic Party with the NPL. “You needed someone with some stick-to-it-ness, and he was one of them,” said fellow Insurgent and former Lt. Governor Lloyd Omdahl. Omdahl, North Dakota’s pre-eminent political historian, wrote that “they looked for Buckshot’s whiskers and knew where the League went—into the Democratic Column.” The Democratic-NPL merger resulted in the election of Buckshot’s longtime friend, Quentin Burdick, as the first ever Democratic-NPL congressman from North Dakota. Burdick was elected to the U.S. Senate in a special election, and North Dakota has not gone a single year since without at least one Democratic-NPL Senator as a part of its Washington delegation. Buckshot was particularly proud that for more than twenty years, both North Dakota’s U.S. senators were Democratic-NPL’ers. Buckshot also helped elect his long-time friend and ally, William L. Guy, as the state’s first Democratic-NPL governor. After Guy’s election in 1960, the governor’s office remained in Democratic-NPL hands for the next 20 years. Buckshot assumed a leadership role in the Nonpartisan League as a young man and continued in leadership during his political career, serving as his party’s floor leader in four of his legislative sessions. His first successful election campaign was in 1962, when he was elected to the North Dakota House of Representatives. He served in the historic 1965 Democratic-NPL majority and then challenged Congressman Mark Andrews for one of the state’s Congressional seats in 1966. He lost that election, but put his farming on hold to serve as Executive Director of the Democratic-NPL, and was a Hubert H. Humphrey delegate to the historic 1968 Democratic National Convention. In 1968, he was re-elected to his House seat from Benson County, and served as Democratic-NPL Leader in the House of Representatives during the 1969 legislative session. In 1971, he was a delegate to the North Dakota Constitutional Convention. He was elected to the North Dakota Senate in 1972, defeating a powerful incumbent and winning in a Republican landslide year. While in the Senate, he was elected Democratic-NPL Leader and served three sessions in that post. He left the Senate in 1980 to run for North Dakota Agriculture Commissioner, a race he narrowly lost to Kent Jones in the Reagan landslide. In 1981-82 he was chairman of the group known as the Majority ’82 Committee that was formed to take control of the North Dakota House of Representatives. His efforts and the efforts of hundreds of others resulted in the Democrats taking control of the House in 1982. He was again elected to his seat that year and became one of only five members of the North Dakota Democratic-NPL to serve in the majority party for two sessions. The others were his longtime friends, the late Representative Richard Backes, former Superintendent of Public Instruction Wayne Sanstead, the late Speaker of the House Oscar Solberg and the late Representative Olaf Opedahl. He often remarked that moving from the posh, intimate Senate chambers back to the raucous House of Representatives was like moving from the British House of Lords back to the House of Commons, and he loved it. He was one of the top ten longest serving Democratic NPL legislators. During his tenure, he was deeply involved in many of the epic political battles of the day. House Majority Leader Earl Strinden of Grand Forks recalled battling Hoffner in the Legislature over several contentious issues, including coal severance tax. He and Rep. Backes led the long running fight to make sure that the citizens of North Dakota received a fair share of the coal mining revenue. “We obviously had our differences,” said Strinden, “but I found him to be a straightforward individual who was dedicated to serving the citizens of North Dakota, and we had a very cordial relationship over many, many sessions and many years. He was well-respected by those on both sides of the political aisle.” Buckshot was also instrumental in the formation of the land reclamation laws, state funding for kindergarten, and the foundation aid program for public schools. He often said that his proudest accomplishment in the Legislature was his passage of the Open Meetings and Records Law. For this he was awarded the “People’s Right to Know” award from the professional journalists’ society, Sigma Delta Chi. Buckshot was a proud supporter of the arts – in particular, public radio and television. In 1984, he again left the Legislature to run for governor, and became one of the “fabulous four” who traveled the state in the same car, running against each other— former Governor Arthur Link, former Highway Commissioner Walter Hjelle, former Governor George Sinner, and Buckshot. It was the media attention those four candidates drew that led, in large part, to the election of George Sinner that year. Shortly after his election, Governor Sinner named Buckshot Executive Director of the North Dakota Centennial Commission, overseeing planning for the state's 100th birthday celebration in 1989. Buckshot was a born showman and each time he was interviewed, he ran home first to get into his costume – top hat, vest and tie. Over 100,000 people showed up at the party celebrating 100 years of North Dakota statehood. Buckshot rode around the capitol grounds in a golf cart, dressed in 1889 garb, wearing a large self-satisfied grin on his face. After leaving the Centennial Commission, Buckshot retired from active politics and served as founder and Executive Director of the Missouri Valley Historical Society, where he led the effort to build Buckstop Junction, a historic village near Bismarck. Society board member Marlette Pittman said that without Hoffner’s knowledge and drive, the town may not have materialized. “It was his life’s passion for 15 years,” she said. I don’t think Buckstop Junction would have happened without Buckshot because he was a salesperson. He had the vision, he went around and found the buildings, he talked people into donating buildings, sometimes even talked people into paying to move the buildings.” After he retired as Executive Director of the Missouri Valley Historical Society, he remained involved in local preservation efforts by serving on the board of directors of the Bismarck Historical Society. His volunteer efforts were recognized by a number of organizations. In 2003, he was given the “Hometown Hero” award by the North Dakota League of Cities, for his work in creating Buckstop Junction. In 2005, he was awarded the “Lifetime of Caring” award by the Missouri Valley United Way. In 2007, he was honored for 15 years of service to the North Dakota Retired Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP). Sebastian Fabian Hoffner died December 17, 2015, at the age of 91. He was survived by his children, Fabian, Minneapolis; James (Mary), Devils Lake; and Siobhan (Arnold) Deppa, Bismarck; his grandchildren, Sara (Kendall) Hoffner, West Fargo; Tara, Haley and Samantha Hoffner, all of Devils lake; and Geoffrey S. McLatchy, Lodi, CA; and his great-grandchildren, Hunter, Wyatt and Kalden, West Fargo. He was preceded in death by his wife, Patricia, in 2008; his parents, George and Elizabeth; his brother, Edward; and his sisters Anita, Rose, Irene and Cecilia.
Red ID: FND_I_74320 Image ID: 555523 Image Notes: FND001 23652

Collection: FND001 Digitized Images from Collection
Title: SHSND Foundation - North Dakota Heritage Family Memorial Program
Date: -

Summary: The North Dakota Heritage Family Memorial Program is sponsored by the North Dakota Funeral Directors Association. The life stories of deceased North Dakotans are featured in an archvied collection. Current partners in the project are Eastgate Funeral & Cremation Services, Bismarck Evans Funeral Homes, Carrington and New Rockford Everson-Coughlin Funeral Home, Williston Fulkerson Funeral Home, Tioga Fulkerson Funeral Home, Watford City Fulkerson Stevenson Funeral Home, Williston Nero Funeral Home, Bottineau Parkway Funeral Service, Bismarck Springan Stevenson Funeral Home, Stanley Stevenson Funeral Home, Dickinson These funeral homes provide recent obituaries to the Foundation, where staff and volunteers format, edit and archive each memorial. The memorials are posted, and copies are sent to the family for their input and approval. The listing currently features more than 13,000 memorials, and is constantly updated as new memorials and histories are received.

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