Joe Hoffman was born in Fremont, OH, on April 20, 1950, to Ed and Theresa Hoffman. At age two, the family moved to Helena, OH, where Hoffman grew up. He lived in a Norman Rockwell town of the '50s, where life was free and the Pennsylvania Railroad presented a constant treat of massive steam locomotives rumbling down the tracks a few hundred feet from his home. There were limited cultures in that small Ohio neighborhood. As it is sometimes said, "it was a great place to raise your kids".
