Woman who escaped East Germany and settled in Norman Wells, N.W.T. has lived to 100 | CBC News

When Maria Hodgson of Slovenia stepped off the plane in Normal Wells, N.W.T., in 1955, she didn’t speak a word of English, and couldn’t believe where she’d landed.

Maria, or ‘Mitzi’ as she is known to her friends, stayed in Norman Wells for the rest of her life, and it’s where she celebrated her 100th birthday on Dec. 19.

Now, her daughter, Heidi Hodgson, is sharing the story of her mother’s life.

“She got off the plane and it was July and it was daylight and they had arrived in the evening and it was the bugs and mosquitoes, and she thought ‘Oh my goodness, what did I get myself into?'” she told CBC North’s Lawrence Nayally on Trail’s End.

Kitchen staff to hotel owner

Mitzi had come to the small town to work at the Imperial Oil mess hall alongside her sister, who’d immigrated to Canada when she married an American soldier. Her sister and brother-in-law ended up in Norman Wells, so that’s where Mitzi went too, Heidi explained.

“She began working in the mess hall, and she had to make toast because she couldn’t speak English. And I think she caught my daddy’s eye and he caught her eye. And the rest is history,” Heidi said.

Mitzi married Eddy Hodgson in 1958 and they had two children. He was Indigenous and his family was well-established and well-known in the area, Heidi said. 

According to Mitzi’s family, she’s fluent in four languages and was deeply involved with the town’s Catholic church, St. Anthony’s. She also grew an incredible vegetable garden, was a seamstress, and renowned for hosting dinner parties. At an auction in town, her cherry cheesecake once raked in $1,400 after a bidding war.

Her family says she wore many hats over the years, whether it was working in the Imperial Oil hospital and delivering babies, managing and owning a local hotel, or tending the graveyard with her late husband.

“She gave back to her community, and her number one love was, and still is, her family and her community,” Heidi said.

Escape from East Germany

Prior to moving to the territory, Mitzi lived in Europe. At the age of 14, during the Great Depression, she and her sister moved from Slovenia to Germany to find work. She then lived through the second world war and the sisters found themselves in East Germany.

“She escaped,” Heidi said. “(It) was under the cover of darkness on a train. And they had to jump off the train before they reached the border and they had to walk through waist-high water with their luggage, just so they wouldn’t be caught by the Russians.”

Mitzi returned to Slovenia where she lived for a few years before taking a ship, train and then a plane to Norman Wells to join her sister. 

Celebrating 100

Heidi’s father also worked for Imperial Oil, and the family lived in a company house until he retired in 1985.

“Dad had a cabin out of town a little ways and he knew that that’s where he was going to build a home to retire,” Heidi said.

Eventually Heidi and her husband bought that home from her parents, while her parents built another place next door and her brother built a house on the other side.

“It was like a Hodgson row,” Heidi said.

“They raised us here (in Normal Wells) and we raised our children here, it’s a beautiful place to raise a family.”

Mitzi continued living there until early December 2023, when she had a fall, shortly before her birthday. She has since been living in a long-term care facility while she recovers, and that’s where she celebrated her birthday with friends and family, some of whom flew in for the occasion. 

Leading up to the big day, Heidi recalls her mother’s awe at how long she had lived.

“She would always be shocked that she was going to be 100. She couldn’t wrap her mind around it… it’s astonishing, even to her,” she said.

Mitzi received several gifts for her birthday, including special greetings from Pope Francis, the prime minister and governor general, and the King.