Bella Hodge is a pioneer in the Northern Penisula tourism industry. She opened the Valhalla Lodge B&B in 1986. She grew up in Raleigh and L'Anse aux Meadows, Newfoundland. As a child in L'Anse aux Meadows she played on the Viking mound that were said to be Indian Ruins by the local people. She has an outgoing personality and is very knowledgeable about the area. She has entertained many tourists over the years, with her yarns. One tourist that has stayed at Valhalla and befriended Bella was E. Annie Proulx the writer of the Pulitzer Prize winning novel "The Shipping News". Annie was actually inspired and wrote "The Shipping News" while she stayed at Valhalla. Bella is acknowledged in the famous book.

Annie has sold the rights to produce the movie, to "Tri Star Pictures"; it was filmed in Newfoundland in 2000. Quoyle "the main character was be played by 1999 Academy Award winner for best actor, Kevin Spacey.

Following a traumatizing experience with his wife (Blanchett), a struggling newspaper writer, Quoyle (Spacey), takes some advice from his new-found aunt (Dench) and returns, with his young daughter, to the small fishing town in Newfoundland where his family has long lived in. Living in an old run-down home, life starts looking up for Quoyle as his "Shipping News" column in the The Granny Bird finds an audience and he discovers a new love (Moore) in the small town community.

Bella actually opened the first local Northern Newfoundland Newspaper buisness called the "The Polaris News" in St. Anthony. This maybe where Annie got the idea of "The Gammy Bird". Shipping News Website

Articles: Globe and Mail- The Valhalla Lodge