World War I. The stock market crash of 1929. The rise of Nazism. The bombing of Pearl Harbor. World War II. The Korean Conflict. The coming and going of 18 presidents.
Cows roaming in a pasture where the North Bergen City Hall is now. The rise of the New York City skyline. Being there the day the sleepy little town of Union Hill officially became Union City.
These are just some of the things that lifelong Union City resident Peg Shannon Hoehl has seen in her 100 years.
Hoehl, who celebrated her centennial on April 3, was born in Union Hill in 1903, and her earliest recollections were of a hardworking mix of people, most of German and Irish decent. According to Hoehl, her relatives came from Northern Ireland in the 1850s.
A spry and sharp-witted woman who by looks and demeanor defies her age, Hoehl resides at the St. Joseph’s Home in Jersey City and possesses an encyclopedic knowledge of Union City and its history.
Hoehl’s daughter, Bernadette [who takes care of her mother and acts as a sort of "agent"], a retired microbiologist at St. Luke’s/Roosevelt Hospital in New York City, said that taking her mother for a ride in a car through Union City can be an experience. Said Bernadette, "Peg [she calls her mother by her first name] will point at buildings and say, ‘That building used to be so-and-so’s house and that building used to be a park."
It is for this reason that the Union City Library Friends have enlisted Hoehl to help compile a working history of Union City.
Recently, there has been a movement in Union City to try to put together a comprehensive historical record of Union City, one that stretches back to when the town was called "Union Hill" and was connected to a little town called "West Hoboken."
A group of locals are working together to see this project to its fruition. Among them is Juan Carlos Rojas, owner of the Havana-on-the-Hudson multi-media company. Said Rojas in a February 2003 Reporter article, "Union City, in the beginning of the twentieth century, was considered off-off-off Broadway. People such as Don Rickles would come to the Kit Kat Klub here and hone their skills before they moved on to Manhattan.”
Hoehl’s recollections of Union City concurred with Rojas’ historical assertion. Said Hoehl, "George Burns, Gracie Allen and Milton Berle would all perform in Union City. They would perform at the Hudson Theater at 38th Street and New York Avenue."
Hoehl also remembered that "The first movie we saw here was in an open-air theater at Lincoln Street and Bergenline Avenue."
Even as she moves into her second century, Peg Hoehl continues to be involved in many of the clubs that the St. Joseph center offers. According to her daughter Bernadette, who Peg had "late in life" (in her late 40s), "She still goes out to dinner, but it has gotten a bit tougher to get her around. She can walk around somewhat, but it’s safer for her to be in her chair. She’s pretty daring."
Peg also belongs to "The Sunshine Club" at St. Joseph’s where residents can discuss problems, concerns and activities. Peg’s voice, of course, is always heard at these meetings.
Opinions, and the guts to express them, are not something Peg is shy about. Said her daughter, "Peggy never stifled a word, whether you liked it or not."
Bernadette also mentioned that her mother, who is a retired nurse, was a bit of a medical marvel and forerunner by being one of the first people in the country to have surgery to remove some of her lymph nodes…in 1925.
It was amazingly risky and experimental surgery then, but Hoehl came through it with flying colors.
In fact, according to Bernadette, Boston University will be using Peg for a "centenarian study," to "see what has made her last so long."
Certainly genetics have had a lot to do with Hoehl’s longevity. According to Hoehl, "My grandfather lived to be 101 and many of my relatives lived a long time." Added Hoehl, "I want to hit 105. Then we’ll have a party. They’ll have to shut the whole town down for that one."