Charlie Hodge
Author Charlie Hodge is a veteran author with five decades experience as an award-winning journalist, photographer, and columnist. He still writes a weekly newspaper and on-line magazine column titled HodgePodge , which he’s penned for 43 years.
Lost Souls of Lakewood - The History and Mystery of Blaylock Mansion is Charlie’s third book. His 1998 biography on Howie Meeker, titled Golly Gee It’s Me was a Canadian bestseller.
He is currently working on his fourth book The Incomplete Works of C.W. Hodge - a unique blend of his poetry, song writing, short stories, columns and memoirs from his broad life experiences.
Many of those sagas are of various characters met during his 30 years as a full time journalist, decades in the music industry, an active nationally recognized environmentalist, radio talk show host, and four terms as both an elected City Councillor and a Regional District Director.
Charlie was born and raised in the Okanagan Valley and lived in various B.C. towns over the years including Kelowna, Kamloops Salmon Arm, Parksville, Qualicum Beach, in addition to Edmonton and San Francisco.
His passion for writing was instilled by his mother and grandfather, and encouraged by high school teachers, in particular Eileen Cassidy his high school creative writing teacher.
Living with Emphysema (stage four) Hodge was hospitalized a number of times during the writing of Lost Souls visiting death twice during those stays. He jokingly suggests the experience helped him understand ghosts better.
Lost Souls took five years to complete, largely due to the significant research needed. Charlie was introduced to the book idea by Dan McGauley. (See Danny boy).
Charlie enjoys gardening and fly fishing when he is not at council or writing. He and wife Teresa share their Kelowna home with five spoiled cats.
Danny McGauley
This novel would never have happened without the original concept about a book on Selwyn Blaylock and his mansion by another former mansion owner Dan McGauley. For several years Dan collected memories of various bed and breakfast guests when he and wife Louise ran the Mansion. He eventually approached Hodge to write the book and after numerous discussions agreed that Hodge should expand the book’s spectrum to include previous and future property owners - and the various ghosts witnesses attested to meeting.
The final product took five years to complete.
Daniel Gerald McGauley III was born in Trail in 1944 to Pat and Ged McGauley and after graduating from JL Crowe High School, received his formal post-secondary education at the ‘School of Hard Knocks’.
An adventurous and free spirit Dan settled back in his home town learning the ropes of the family concrete business - McGauley Ready Mix. How he procured the Mansion is in the book
During the five plus years Hodge and McGauley spent together they came to count on each other like brothers - cheering each other up, motivating, inspiring, or just giving a wakeup call. They became best of friends.
As book completion loomed so did their health. Both knew time was not on either of their sides. Dan’s health was failing rapidly so rather than wait for major publishers (who can takes months to even read a manuscript) they decided to self-publish with Friessen Press.
Sadly, despite best efforts by all, the book was still on the
presses when Dan’s cancer hit him quick and hard. He died before the book hit the shelves.
When the beautiful, shiny book with neat cover and both names on it arrived just weeks later the celebration was not the same for Charlie. His pal ‘Danny Boy’ was not there - in person- to share the joy.
We dedicate this website to our dear friend forever - Danny Boy.
We also wonder if there is a new entity hanging about in the attic at Lakewood?