Olive Margaret Hodgson
Sex: F
Individual Information
Birth Date: 8 Sep 1918 - Manitou, Manitoba, Canada Christening: 17 Sep 1918 - Manitou, Manitoba, Canada Death: 17 Sep 1918 - Manitou, Manitoba, Canada Burial: 18 Sep 1918 - Manitou, Manitoba, Canada Cause of Death:
Parents
Father: George Alexander Hodgson 149 Mother: Lily Hyacinth Windsor 5139Thelma Irene Hodgson
Sex: F
Individual Information
Birth Date: 30 Dec 1916 - Manitou, Manitoba, Canada Christening: 20 Jun 1917 - Manitou, Manitoba, Canada Death: 23 Jun 2004 - Delta, British Columbia, Canada ( at age 87) 5455 Burial: Cause of Death:Events
• Education: Grade 10, Winnipeg School Of Beauty.
• Alt. Death: Bef 31 Aug 2012.
Parents
Father: George Alexander Hodgson 149 Mother: Lily Hyacinth Windsor 5139
Spouses and Children
1. *Harry Douglas Hunter 5455 Marriage: 2 Oct 1940 - Kingston, Jamaica Children: 1. Living 2. Living 3. Living
Notes
General:
030819 from David Hunter's website:
A Bride's Letter - Oct. 9, 1940
7 days after getting married in Jamaica, Thelma Hunter (nee Hodgson) writes a letter to Harry's parents in Winnipeg
Wed., Oct. 9, 1940
Dear Mom & Dad -
My first letter to my new Mom & Dad and it makes me feel so proud to be one of the family. Hard and all as it is to believe, we have been married a week today. It doesn't seem possible. When we were separated the time seemed so long and I thought it would never end but this past week shows that time does run along after all. It's been the happiest week of my life and I wouldn't be single again for all the world. Harry is so darn good to me. He treats me as a queen and I'm afraid he is going to have me terribly spoiled because I haven't a single thing to do. I get up with Harry at 7 and have breakfast and go back to bed till 9:30 or 10 and get up and lounge around on the veranda and read and write letters until 1 when we have lunch. Then I lay down and sleep until 3:30 and get up, have a shower and get prettied up for when Harry comes home. We have tea at 4:30 and lounge around some more until 7:30 and have dinner. It seems impossible to lead such a lazy life and feel contented and really like it, but with the heat you haven't energy to do any more. I never thought I could ever spend a day doing nothing, but I really love it down here. The hottest time seems between 1 and 4 so everyone sleeps.
To get on with the wedding - I guess Harry told you all about it but it's something I never get tired talking about. It was lovely all the way through and Harry sure made a wonderful job of arranging things. We were unable to have Spencer Shupe stand up for Harry as he was up in the hills. We were very disappointed, but I'm sure no more than what Mrs. Shupe and Spencer were. We managed to get hold of Val Donovan though and it was really nice having someone from home. I felt like a million dollars walking up the aisle on Charlie's arm. My corsage was orchids so that lifted me away up in the air because I know hundreds of girls dream of orchids but never get to see them, and to think I was able to wear them on my wedding day. Janet wore roses and the church was decorated with peach colour gladiolas and the house was decorated with African daisies. I'd have given anything to have you both there. My wedding ring is so sweet too. It resembles a plain gold band although it has eight little notches in it. The plain band was a little too heavy for my engagement ring. I felt as if I had a big handful at first but I'm getting used to the idea now and feel quite at home.
On with the wedding - Coming out of the church we were showered with rice. I got mouthfuls and Harry got it in his hair and collar also shoes and pant cuffs. It was kind of hard but it wouldn't have been a wedding without a little bit of rice. The reception was at Janet's house and we just got back and photographers from 2 newspapers were there and took a few pictures (we are sending the papers on by the way). Needless to say we've been the talk of the town, but it doesn't worry us because we are too much in love to bother with anyone else. The reception went off very well. They had a little liquor for toasts and Val Donovan got up and gave a toast to our Mums and Dads in Winnipeg. So we were thinking of you all the way through. I thought it really swell of Val. Harry rented a car for our honeymoon, a big Auburn coupe in a pale green shade. It was a real honey. We left the gang and started out about 4 and I was glad to get away because the excitement was so great that you couldn't stand it very long. We drove all along the coast of Jamaica and got as far as Port Antonio the first night. We stayed at The Titchfield Hotel (folder enclosed). They took us to our room and twin beds stared us in the face. We had quite a laugh over it but we managed fine. The hotel and scenery all along the coast was something you see in the movies but wouldn't believe it actually existed.
The next day we drove on to St. Annes and Runaway Bay and stayed there three days at Valley Minor House and it was perfect. They knew we were honeymooning and they made everything so nice. (They slipped up on one thing and that was they also gave us a room with twin beds.) On Sunday we cut across the island and headed back for Kingston. There were plenty of hills to climb, the roads were swell and the scenery perfect. Passed coconut trees galore, also banana trees and orange, grapefruit and pimento trees, all just laden with fruit. All I can say is it was a perfect honeymoon in the tropics. We are staying at the Doric for a while and it is really perfect. The one draw back is Harry has to go so far to work. He usually gets a ride home at night so that's a big help.
Mum, he's spoiling me terribly (but I love it). I don't know what I'll do when we get back to Canada. Leading a life like this I'm going to have to watch the waistline, although if we can get tennis racquets half reasonable we are planning on taking up tennis because there is a court in the yard. Something I intend getting away this week is the wedding cake. I cut up and boxed 3 dozen yesterday and we still have about 2 more dozen to look after. It was a lovely cake. Very moist and beautifully decorated.
I know Mrs. Shupe will be very disappointed to know Spencer didn't stand up for Harry. But is in the army and just couldn't be helped. He was up in the hills. Haven't heard if he is down yet or not. At last minutes notice we were able to get Val Donovan. Val is a grand kid. The real brotherly type.
We got some lovely things from a few friends Harry made here. A Dr. Solomon gave us a lovely (huge) pyrex meat platter in a silver holder. Also got a pair of serviette rings with our initials on them, also a lunch cloth and serviettes, a set of 6 cake forks and the server from the Imperial staff here also another set of 6 cake forks from a Norma and Shiela Dickson. Also got a mahogany bedside table and an electric clock and a cookie jar. This Dr. Solomon also gave me a large bottle of "Charm" perfume. Everyone was so darn swell to us and did everything they could to help and make it easy for us.
When Harry said life was different down here he really meant different. It's a different world from Canada. Harry and I have a Canadian accent here. The foods are so different too. Some of their foods I've never even heard of so a taste has to be required (which Harry hasn't yet). The money wasn't quite so confusing once I saw the coins. I can figure things out now as to what prices things are but to make change is still in the dark. Once I start doing some buying it will come easy enough I guess.
I guess I should run as it's nearly lunch time. I wish you could see our room. It's swell (has twin beds by the way) so we've given up trying to get away from them. There are 4 large windows in our room and 2 doors. One leading to the hall and the other to the verandah. Have a wash basin in our room and the shower and bath are next door to our room.
We are sending this regular mail so will try and get a note away in Tuesday's plane and hold you over till this arrives.
Lots of love to everyone,
from Harry and Thelma
Harry is looking and feeling fine so please don't worry. I really promise to look after him well.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
The Tales of Thelma Irene Hunter
The Tales of Thelma Irene Hunter
(nee Hodgson, pronounced Hodson)
December 30, 1916 - June 23, 2004
From left:
* Douglas (Doug) Hunter b.
* Thelma Irene Hunter (nee Hodgson) b. Dec.30, 1916 Manitou d. Jun.23, 2004
* Beverly (Bev) Hunter b.
* Henry Dundas (Harry Douglas) Hunter b. Aug.16, 1915 d. Feb.28, 2001
* David Hunter b.
Preamble:
In 2002, mom and I sat down and recorded some of the memories of her childhood. Dad had been dead for a year and she was still recovering from damage to her left knee caused by a fall from tripping over the phone cord. Here is the result of the conversation that we had.
- David
Thelma:
I was born on December 30, 1916 on a farm in Manitou, Manitoba, which is 100 Miles SW of Winnipeg. When I was 4, we left the farm and moved into town. My earliest memory was getting my fork stuck under my chin when I was in my highchair. I also remember getting an old rusty piano.
My mother was Lily Hyacinth Hodgson (nee Windsor). Before having a family she was a telegraph and telephone operator in Manitou's first telephone office. My father was George Alexander Hodgson. His mom and dad traveled from Ontario through the U.S., and traveled up the Red River to Manitoba. They homesteaded in the Pembina Valley, which is now called Manitou. They settled in the area around 1885 and helped build the town. He was a tailor and a carpenter and she often made sweets for the children in the area.
My father was a farmer, but he hated farming. So he got a job in the gas works for the township and looked after the street lights and the homes. Gas was all we had for lights because there was no electricity. He got a car because he had to light the street lights every night. In my house, there was a big gas pipe that came down from the ceiling which had a T-bar that came across it at the bottom with two little jets on each end which provided some light at night. Along with kerosene lamps, this was how we lit the house.
When electricity came to the town I was about 10, which was 1926. We were having our house wired and the workmen didn't get the wiring finished during the day, so they stayed an extra few hours to get the job done. My mom promised that she would wake me up when the installation was complete. So, later that night I saw the first electric light as it came on and marveled at how bright the light was. It was only a 25 Watt bulb but it was bright compared to the two gas jets we had been using. There were only two lights in the house, one in the living room and the other in the kitchen.
My mother loved her job at the telephone office and found it hard to give it up when she started a family. She did all the sewing and knitting and made clothes for most of the family. All cooking was on a wood stove.
There was a furnace in the basement that ran on wood and coal. Each night we had to stock it up with coal to help keep the house warm. All wood was cut by the dads of the family and they would go into the woods in pairs and bring out the logs on horse drawn sleds. It usually took two or three trips to get enough wood for the winter. All coal was delivered in great big chunks at $4 a ton. Each house had an iron pole with a point on the end for jabbing at the blocks of coal to break them apart. The smaller chunks were then shoveled into the furnace. The first person up in the morning had to light the furnace to get the house warm again, and that person was usually my brother Claire, or me.
Our neighbour, Buck Ellis, had the only well in the immediate area, so several families living around him had to rely on his good nature. In the winter time, this pump would always freeze up and the only way to get water out was to boil water in a kettle and pour the boiling water over the pump. Of course, once you thawed the pump and got your water, all the neighbors would come running to fill their buckets before it froze up again. A pail of water would sit on the pantry with an aluminum ladle for drinking.
In the basement, directly under the kitchen sink, was a big cistern. This held water for the hand pump in the kitchen. In the winter the kids had to cut blocks of snow from the big snow bank in the back, bring it by sleigh to the house and toss it through a trap hole in the floor, where it would drop into the cistern. This was how we had soft water to wash their clothes, hands and face. Also, there was a cubicle at the end of the cook stove that we called the boiler because the stove heated the water in it for doing the dishes and washing. All baths took place in a tub on the floor of the kitchen on Saturday night and it was so much work for my mother that it was no wonder we only had a bath once a week, because she had to close up the kitchen from the rest of the house to get it good and hot, put the tub on the floor and fill it with hot water from the boiler. Each would have their bath in turn – all in the same water. Feet had to be washed more often though, because there were no sidewalks and dirt was everywhere. I was about 12 (1928) when wooden sidewalks were built throughout the town. Before I left Manitou, they were made of cement.
In the kitchen, beside the stove, was a sink, and my dad ran a pipe out from under the sink to the garden outside so that none of the water would be wasted. Every time you did the dishes or washed your hands, the water would drain out through a pipe to our garden in the vacant lot next door. That was where we grew our own vegetables – potatoes, carrots, peas, beans, rhubarb and onions. Farming this small plot was a family effort. My mother always dug the holes for the potatoes. She would do this by putting her heel over a hole and dig the next one in front of her toe. I would come behind and drop 3 slices of potatoes in each hole. Helen would come behind me and place the sliced part down, with the eyes of the potato up. Claire would come last with a hoe and cover the holes up. This was our assembly line. The vegetables that grew would have to do us the whole year, until the next spring.
Our toilets were outhouses. With the vacant lot being at the side of their house, the kids always went to the toilet with the door open so they could see up the street. Of course, we never thought for a minute that people coming down the street could see us too. On Halloween, the kids in town would turn them over – all but our outhouse because it was secured up against the garage. It was either that or the fact that my brother, Claire, was in on the mischief. One time they also piled seven or eight outhouses on the steps of the school so we wouldn't be able to get in the next day. In the winter time it was too cold to go to the bathroom outside, so there was a biffy put in the basement, with a pipe connecting it to the furnace to take away the odors. We also used pots, which were kept under our beds in case we had to go at night. We never had an indoor toilet. I was 17 when I moved to Winnipeg and there was still no indoor toilet in Manitou because there was no water for flushing.
In the winter, we had to bundle up well to face the -40 degree cold. We put scarves around our head, laced felt boots that came up to our knees and long underwear which itched something awful. Of course all of the long underwear came with a trap door in the back. The girls wore dresses with woolen socks pulled on over their stockings as well. We often would snowshoe or ski to school after a snowfall because there was no way to clean the snow from the streets and that was the easiest way to get there.
Everybody had a barn on their property, with one or more horses in it. Our barn was used as a garage because we were one of the few families that had a car. Everyone had a sleigh. During the winter, the wind would blow snow up against the garage and this snow-bank would become as crisp as can be, so you could walk on it. We used to dig into the side of it and make a nice cozy fort. All winter long our lips would be chapped.
We skated a lot – almost always with hand-me-down pairs. Rather than going to the rink, we preferred to skate on our own property, which was flooded by getting water from the well.
My dad died when I was 10, which shattered our world. The story around his death was that he was accidentally shot in a hunting accident, but this wasn't true. I found out years later that he had committed suicide in the basement. My older brother, Claire, was 13, I was 10, Helen was 7, and my younger brother, Geordie, was 5 months old. I always avoided talking about my youth and was sure that this family tragedy was the reason.
Everyone seemed to be doing well in the mid to late 20's because everyone owned their own house. However, it started to slow down for our family after my dad died. That, plus the depression in the 30's eventually resulted in severe hardship for the family. After my dad's death, my mom kept the family together for a while because the house was paid for and we grew our own vegetables and the family got a survivors pension. I never knew about poverty because I was never hungry and always had lots of clothes. My mom must have had a tough time, though, because there were times when she owed money for a load of coal and she couldn't get any more until the last load was paid for. The coal company wanted her to take out a mortgage on the house to pay off the bill, but she wouldn't do it. The insurance money that they got for my dad's death kept us together for 7 years. We also got some extra money when workers came from Winnipeg to put electricity in the town and wire up all the houses. The hotel didn't provide meals to these workers – only beds. So my mom earned some money by feeding 5 or 6 of these men at noon each day. Claire also helped out by delivering groceries before eventually getting a job in the creamery.
I never had any trouble in school. Grades 1 through 12 were held in the same school, with two grades in each class. The school was a lovely stone building with a basement and two other levels. Grades 1-8 were on the main floor and 9 – 12 on the second. There was a piano on the landing between the first and second floors. When class was to begin, the school bell would ring and all students would then line up outside, by grade, and march in while someone played the piano. In the winter, each recess was held in the basement due to the cold. This school was only about a half mile from home so getting there was not usually a problem unless it was winter. We always came home at lunch, unless it was in the dead of winter because of the cold. Lunches were an hour and a half. We would get out at 12:00 and return at 1:30 and stay until 4:00. There was no lighting and no water in the school. The school bathrooms had little cubicles for the students – each one having cans. The cans were emptied only once a week, so some chemical had to be applied each day to keep the smell down. Hands were never washed at school. After school, we always came home through the centre of town so we could pick up the mail. During the winter time, this was always worse because we had to face north and into the wind when we walked. I was into everything to do with sports.
My mom arranged to give me piano lessons when I was about 12. She couldn't afford to pay for these lessons, but when she heard that a teacher was coming from Winnipeg, she exchanged piano lessons for room and board. The teacher came down every month and stayed for two nights before returning to Winnipeg. This arrangement worked out well for all and lasted for 5 years.
I joined CGIT when I was 12, and this was when I really started to enjoy life. The group would have Teas at the church to raise money for different trips and each trip to the lake gave me a taste for more independence. It was about this time that I tasted my first tube of toothpaste. Up until then, everyone used ashes from the stove with a little salt mixed in.
Our house had linoleum and mats but no carpeting. The windows had a separate set of glass storm windows that was put on the outside during the winter. These storm windows had two or three holes in the wooden frame to allow some air to come into the house. At night, they would open the inside windows about 6 inches and let fresh air come through these holes, and during the day there was a flap that closed them off. The air circulation at night was important because of the wood and coal burning in the furnace; which was the main cause of accidental death in those days. During the winter, the furnace was kept on all day and night because the houses weren't insulated. If the fire went out, any coal residue would form a hard "clinker", which was hard to remove from the grates of the furnace because they were like cement.
All of the family preserves, vegetables, milk, butter and other perishables were kept down in the cellar because we didn't have an ice box and this was the coolest part of the house. Nothing ever froze. After each meal, we gathered up these items and took them downstairs and put on the cement floor. There was no door to the basement, only a trap door with steps going down. We had to carry an oil lamp with us so we could see. The basement was partially above ground and so we insulated it with dirt during the winter months. Each fall we would shovel dirt against the cement wall outside, which helped keep the floors warm, and each spring we would shovel it all back onto the garden.
The kids of the neighbourhood played different games, but our favourite was "Kick-the-can". When bad, the kids got a licking with a belt or razor strap. I only got one licking in my life and I could never remember why. Clair's last licking was when mom found out that he was at the pool hall. She stormed down to the hall and dragged him out by the ear, and the licking followed.
Clair also had a BB Gun. For fun, he once gave me a nickel to stand over by the garage and bend over so he could use my bum as a target. I made sure to have a heavy coat on for protection.
Clair eventually got a job in the creamery and one of the side benefits to this was that he got to bring home 2-3 quarts of cream every weekend, which the family quickly made into ice cream on the back porch. This was the best ice cream you could ever taste. The hardest part in the process was to get ice because no one had refrigeration in those days.
Milk was delivered by the milk-man in the early hours of each day. He rode on a dray, or long wagon, which was drawn by a horse. In the winter it had runners on it so it was like a sleigh. The cream in the milk would always rise to the top and in the winter it would freeze a bit and expand enough to push the cardboard top of the milk bottle up an inch or so. During these cold winters, the kids would get up and race out so they could eat the cream. Homogenized milk ruined this treat.
There were a number of major events in the family. The first was when my four year old sister, Helen, got her arm caught in the ringer of the washing machine. It ripped off her thumb and got as far as her elbow, where it kept grinding the flesh away. Helen was bed ridden for a year after that and nearly lost her arm because there was no penicillin to prevent infection. The only thing that saved her arm was the special wax that they bought to replace the skin that had been ground off. She had been washing her doll cloths and when she went to put the clothes through the ringer it caught her fingers and pulled them in. The second event was three years later when my dad shot himself. The third was when four year old Geordie fell off a tractor and landed on one of the farming disks at the back, which cut his eye open. Mom took him to Winnipeg to get treatment, but he never saw from that eye again. When Geordie was 12 he had a bicycle accident and hit his head against the door handle of a car. He had to sit up in bed for weeks after the accident because of the bleeding and clotting around the brain. Eventually he was taken to Dr. Penfield in Montreal to have surgery, but the damage had already been done. After that, Geordie always suffered from epilepsy. Later in life, drugs kept the seizures under control.
The biggest thrill in my life was the day that I heard music from our house when I returned from school. Clair had bought a radio – the family's first one. All it cost was $1 down and 25 cents a week. Clair's work at the creamery was starting to pay off.
Very few people had a telephone and our family was no exception. In the beginning it seemed to make little sense to get one because none of our friends had one either. Most people went visiting and got caught up on the gossip that way. If my mom wanted a recipe from a friend, she would walk over to our friends house and return with it in hand.
A train came through the township at 11:30 every morning and dropped off the mail. The townspeople would go down to the post office and wait for the mail to be sorted before they could get it. Our family had post box #64, which we kept the whole time while we were in Manitou. There were two grocery stores and one dry-goods store that sold knitting and embroidering materials as well as lots of other craft items. Most women were adept at knitting, needlework and darning.
As the depression took hold, the little bits of money that the family earned dried up – as did the survivor's pension we were receiving from my dad's death. Although my oldest brother, Clair, was 20 and worked full time, he wasn't earning enough to hold the family together and so we had to be split up. I was 17 when mom and I went to Winnipeg to live with Aunt Ollie, which was my dad's sister. Aunt Ollie had 6 kids and they all welcomed us into the family as if we were one of them. Helen went to another of my dad's sisters, Aunt Mag, who lived in Manitou. Geordie went to stay with Aunt May, who was my mom's sister. Claire stayed behind and looked after the house.
About a year after moving to Winnipeg I introduced my mom to a policeman, named Alex Martin. Within the next year they got married and we moved back to our house in Manitou. My youngest brother, Geordie, was 8 when they married and took the name Martin.
I enrolled in a hair dressing school when I was 18 and became good at it. (she received the runner-up trophy for Marcel, which is a hairstyle with deep curly waves made by a heated curling iron). When I turned 19, I moved to Ft. Gary to work as a Hair Dresser. One of my girlfriends was already working there and she came to meet me at the train station and brought along a man by the name of Harry Hunter. This was how I met your dad. That night, the three of us went out together and sat in a little booth at a restaurant – and when we ordered a beer, the curtains had to be drawn around us for privacy. This was my first beer.
Six months later, I started dating him. I guess he liked my legs. The first time he kissed me it was the worst kiss I ever had. About a year later he was asked to manage the Jamaican branch for Imperial Optical and, just before going, asked me to marry him. We waited for a year, but I finally left Canada and traveled by train from Winnipeg, through New York and on to Miami, where I caught a steamship to Jamaica. Getting on a steamship took a bit of time because the war was going on and submarines were lurking in the area. Also, first priority was always for the war effort. I arrived in Jamaica on September 29th, 1940 and got married at 2:00 PM on October 2nd in the Half Way Tree Parish Church. I was 23 and Harry was 25.
Final comment from David:
In February, 2000, dad (Harry) drove his car into a telephone pole and couldn't explain what happened. I knew that something was wrong and within three months, dad entered hospital and never came out. He died in Palliative Care in Vancouver on February 28, 2001. Mom (Thelma) stayed in the house (183 - 66th Street) in Boundary Bay until September, 2003, and then moved to a senior's facility in Tsawwassen. In January, 2004, mom developed a Baker's Cist behind the right knee and her leg swelled up. She was in and out of Delta Hospital for the next three months. At the end of May she fell out of bed while in the Care unit of the senior's facility and broke her left foot and suffered a compressed spine. During her final stay in hospital she suffered a stroke and her entire right side became paralyzed. A further complication was that she lost the ability to swallow. Given all her complications and ongoing pain in her back and legs, Bev, Doug and I decided to not allow the doctors to insert a feeding tube into her throat. I therefore instructed one of the physicians to not provide medical intervention and to merely provide as much comfort as possible. For the next three weeks, pain killers and fluid was provided via I.V. and she finally died on June 23, 2004.
Good old mom. All her life she loved her family and friends. She had all kinds of time for each and every person that touched her life. A hug was always ready for you.
Living
Sex: F
Parents
Father: Living Mother: LivingLiving
Sex: M
Spouses and Children
1. Living Children: 1. Living 2. Living 3. LivingLiving
Sex: M
Spouses and Children
1. Living Children: 1. LivingLiving
Sex: M
Parents
Father: Living Mother: LivingLiving
Sex: F
Spouses and Children
1. Living Children: 1. LivingLois D. Hoerth
Sex: F
Individual Information
Birth Date: Cir 1911 164 Christening: Death: Cir 2000 - ( about age 89) 164 Burial: Cause of Death:
Spouses and Children
1. *John Donald Ryan 164 Marriage: Children: 1. Donald Garrison Ryan 2. Craig RyanLiving
Sex: F
Spouses and Children
1. Living Children: 1. Living 2. LivingTheresa Hofman
Sex: F
Individual Information
Birth Date: Christening: Death: Bef 25 May 2020 23 Burial: Cause of Death:
Spouses and Children
1. *Fred Ludwig 23 Marriage: Children: 1. Cecilia Ludwig 2. Frances Ludwig 3. Melvin Ludwig 4. Harold Ludwig 5. S Sgt. Robert Ludwig USAF
Home | Table of Contents | Surnames | Name List
This website was created 9 Apr 2026 with Legacy 10.0, a division of MyHeritage.com; content copyrighted and maintained by cjmorry@ncf.ca