Narda Hoogkamp arrived with her aunt and uncle in Canada in 1951. She was seventeen and spoke no English. “It was a challenge and an adventure,” recalls Hoogkamp. Her family settled in Brougham, and her uncle found work on a farm. Hoogkamp worked at a restaurant for a while after her family moved to the Newcastle area. When she caught up with them, she became a member of the Women’s Institute (WI). Sylvia Van Haverbeke gave the WI a tour of the Elmhurst Hotel, and she met Ann Treleaven, who owned the hotel. Employment at the Elmhurst with Mrs. Treleaven was quickly negotiated.
