Sophie Hays Biography by Priscilla Hofert
Sophie Hays first heard of the Baha’i Faith from her aunt who became a Baha’i in Chicago, when Sophie was 16 and lived in Iowa. She loved the teaching that all religions are from one God, because what she saw in her town was Catholics saying that all Protestants were going to Hell and Protestants saying the same thing about the Catholics.
Sophie Hayes was in her eighties when I met her. Even at that age she was quite tall. She was big boned and had calloused hands, wore her hair in a braid twisted around her head, and had a ready smile for all whom she met.
She and her daughter Frieda Elam were the first Baha’i’s to live in Council Bluffs, Iowa, So far as I know Sophie was also the first Baha’i to live in Iowa.
Sophie had lived in Council Bluffs for many years before we moved there to homefront pioneer. She was elated to help form the first Local Spiritual Assembly of Council Bluffs in 1972.
She had been a domestic worker, a house cleaner, for some of the richest people in Council Bluffs, and when she told them of the Baha’i Faith they ignored her, she said, “because she was only a house cleaner.”
She had another daughter, Henrietta, who lived in the Sioux City area and had nine children. Since there were no children’s classes she had them attend Sunday School at one of the churches. Interestingly, five of the nine children, the girls, all became Baha’is in their forties. One, named Rosemary, had at least one daughter who became a Baha’i and now lives in the area and is active in the Faith and attended the Great Plains Baha’i Summer School with her children. Another one pioneered to Northern Canada and met a pioneer there and married him. I believe he was of either back or native American descent.
I remember when Sophie hosted Feast in her modest apartment, a few rooms in a house. We met in her bedroom, and sat around her bed. She served wonderful home-made brownies. One of our young Baha’is, Dennis Grundman, who was serving at Offit Air Force Base, loved them so much that he said, “Sophie, will you marry me.” which greatly delighted her and added merriment to the meeting.
So as we look at the Faith in Iowa, Sophie was the second generation to believe, her aunt in Chicago being the first generation, her daughters were the third generation, Rosemary, Henrietta’s daughter, was the fourth generation, Rosemary’s daughter was the fifth generation and Sophie’s great grandchildren are the sixth generation of American Baha’is to be under the banner of Baha’u’llah.
She inspired a great legacy.
Not many Baha’is in the USA can claim to be the sixth generation of American Baha’is!