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He enlisted with the Royal Canadian Navy in 1945, on the same day he turned 18 years old. "The war was on and that was the thing to do," he said. Hodgson spent 20 years in the navy, serving on every- thing from wooden mine sweepers to an aircraft carrier, including a lot of destroyers. He was stationed in Halifax for many of those years. Hodgson started off as a torpedo man and ended up as chief petty officer weapons underwater. "My specialty was anti-submarine weaponry. We fired a lot of torpedoes but we never fired one in anger. I'm glad we didn't because when you start doing that, it gets dangerous. They're liable to shoot back." His naval career took Hodgson around the world. "We showed the Canadian flag in many ports around Africa, Europe and South America," he said proudly. Hodgson acknowledged he was even lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time to attend the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II and was in Sierra Leone the day it became an independent nation. When he wasn't at sea, he was either taking courses or instructing others in anti-submarine weaponry. Hodgson retired from the navy in 1965 and immediately enlisted in le naval reserve in Halifax. "I wanted to keep in touch with the navy and I thought my experi- ence enabled me to offer something valuable to the reserve," he said. A year later, he left the Maritimes and moved to Toronto to be closer to his parents. He spent three years as production foreman for Phillips Electronics until it closed, managed the marina at Ontario Place for one season and then managed the National Yacht Club in Toronto for a year. Then he jumped straight into the hospitality business. He started out i as a bartender and wound up managing a club before moving to Edmon- | ton in 1976 to become director of operations for Government House. ( ! While out West, he went on a blind date with Billie, a former North- ern Electric employee from Belleville. They married shortly after- wards. When he retired in 1987 from Government House, the couple moved to Belleville to be closer to their respective families. They were only here for two years before they moved to Truro, N.S. and spent the next seven years enjoying life in a new retirement community The Hodgsons returned to Belleville in 1997 "and we don't want to move again." He's become quite involved in the local community since his return. He's on the executive of the Royal Canadian Legion and is in charge of public relations; he writes a weekly Legion column for The Intelli- gencer. Hodgson also helps out with the Legion breakfasts for the less fortu- nate held every second Sunday. He doesn't do any of the cooking but instead serves and cleans. He belongs to the Shrine Club and, as a 'firefighter' and gets to ride on the firetrucks during parades. And he attends every Remembrance Day service to honour his fellow countrymen who made the ultimate sacrifice to their country. "I have many cherished memories of the navy and Government House and photo albums to remind me of those days," said Hodgson. < lT.cUlUa<?< w, iUcw ^( I - Pn cl