If you’ve attended a Hamlet meeting, you will recognize Cheryl Boffard’s name. She has been active on the board of directors for the past seven years as Treasurer. She also owns the food truck that residents may have seen at the annual Stars in the Park event.

Growing up, Cheryl’s father was a construction worker which prompted the family to be semi-nomadic – moving from Washington to Idaho to California to Oregon. The summer after graduating high school, she became a nanny for the Major League Baseball player Harmon Killebrew of the Minnesota Twins.

Cheryl also worked in the steno pool at a mental institution in northern Idaho for several years. While there, she was introduced to the hottest new technology of the 1970s: “a huge machine, big screen and keyboard with a disk that could store information – for data processing” she said. This inspired her to abandon her school plans of becoming a shorthand/typing teacher to become a computer programmer instead.

It was no surprise that in the 1970s Cheryl was the only girl in her programming class. When it came time for job placement, she said, “All the guys were hired right away, but I wasn’t.” Rather than assessing her talent, the (mostly male) interviewers discussed her looks because she was female. Finally, her last interview was with a woman at a data processing firm who ended up hiring her. A year later, Cheryl’s boss said that was the best decision she made because Cheryl “worked circles around the guys.” That was in 1972. Cheryl ended up working with that company for 43 years.

In the early 1990s, Cheryl was living and working in New Jersey and decided to buy a five acre lot in Beavercreek where she could come to camp on her own piece of land. Soon after, the property next to hers went up for sale and she didn’t hesitate to make an offer. Having moved a lot throughout her life, Cheryl is glad to call Beavercreek her home. She loves the solitude.

The property has a pond, a large amount of volunteer madrone trees, and is becoming a habitat for a number of native frogs and rubber boa snakes. Cheryl eventually replaced the manufactured home with a newer one and a barn, which today houses llamas, pygmy goats, and chickens. Like most residents, she battles with blackberries but decided to turn that into an asset — last year, she made blackberry vinegar (recipe in the June 2018 issue).

Cheryl said, “It’s always good to live in a small community. Even better to live away from the rush of a city. However, it’s unfortunate that the Hamlet cannot protect its borders from the City of Oregon City.” This is why she feels it’s important for residents to participate in meetings and other Hamlet activities, as they will not happen without community involvement.

“The Hamlet has sponsored two events for the last seven years: the Flea Market & Craft Sale and the Stars in the Park. The Flea Market is not happening this year due to lack of volunteers and committee chairs,” she says. “Our little Korner Park could benefit greatly if we could find a landscaping business that would volunteer to take it on. The land is so uneven. It could use a few more picnic tables and some region appropriate plants surrounding the fence.” Residents who can help with events or landscaping can email info@beavercreek.org.

Cheryl’s favorite past time is camping. Her goal every year is to camp more than the year before. She recently camped her way down the Oregon coast from Astoria to Newport. It took her over two weeks and she found the neatest, hole-in-the-wall places like a savory crepes restaurant just north of Depoe Bay.

The words she lives by are “keep doing what you always do, get what you always get.” We thank Cheryl for her service to the Hamlet and hope she can continue to meet her camping goals!

Get to know your neighbors! Nominate yourself or someone you know for a Community Spotlight. Email editor@beavercreekbulletin.org.