Hortense was born near Coimbra, Portugal, and came to Canada with her mother and brother in 1964. Her father emigrated in 1957 to work for CN Rail, and the family later joined him, starting out in Laura, Sask.
Hortense and her husband, Fernando, have an acreage near Saskatoon where they raise a few chickens, ducks, turkeys, goats and sheep. Their two daughters are grown and Hortense is now hoping for the arrival of grandchildren.
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“It’s the farmers. They are just average people, and they have needs and you try to help them. And I think this place is unique. I can’t compare it to anywhere else, but I think so.”
She can’t compare the Producer to other workplaces because this is her first and only off-acreage job. Hortense knows the history of this place. She knows where the bodies are buried, so to speak, though I assume the number of bodies is relatively small. Hortense also knows many of our long-time readers, some of whom ask for her by name when they have business with the newspaper.
And after 35 years, she still enjoys her work. She has no plans to retire, although the arrival of grandchildren could change that.
“Would I do it all again? Of course I would. You have to be comfortable where you work. You have to have that desire. You have to be able to say, ‘I’m going to work because I like it.’ That’s what I’ve always told my girls.”
We are lucky to have her.
