N.D. woman, 86, labors through the holiday

[September 03, 2008]  FARGO, N.D. (AP) -- Millions of Americans had Labor Day off, but not Lucy Dumas. The 86-year-old Fargo woman did what she's always done: work. Dumas has been earning an income for more than 70 years. "You name it and I've done it," said Dumas, a former Hillsboro cafe owner who now works full-time at a fast-food restaurant.

"She is the one person I can rely on," said Lindsey Weiss, 23, manager of Hardee's in Fargo.

Dumas joined the Hardee's team more than six years ago. When she first started, she put in 15 to 20 hours every week, most of them around lunchtime. Her transition to full-time worker occurred gradually.

Dumas is most at home in the kitchen, where every weekday morning she slices tomatoes, dices yellow onions, and washes and shreds iceberg lettuce. She also pitches in during the lunch rush and takes orders, or delivers trays of food to customers.

Dumas has lived in Fargo for the past decade but she is perhaps best known in Hillsboro, where she was co-owner of the Corner Cafe on Main Street.

Dumas and her husband, Joe, ran the cafe for nearly four decades.

The couple retired from the restaurant business in 1994. Joe Dumas died the next year.

Lucy moved to Fargo in 1998 at the urging of her of her three children. She said her children gave up years ago encouraging her to slow down and exit the work force.

"They don't say nothing anymore," she said. "They know it doesn't do any good." Dumas, who will celebrate her 87th birthday next month, has no plans to turn in her Hardee's badge anytime soon.

"As long as I can work, I'll work," she said. "After I can't work, well, then I won't."

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Information from: The Forum,
http://www.in-forum.com/

[Associated Press]

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