She is an icon at the Catholic Centre. When you enter the building she’s usually the first person you see, either sitting on a bench or cleaning. If a regular visitor to the Centre comes in and doesn’t see her, the first question he or she asks is, “Where the short, dark lady?”

Yes, that’s “our” Hazel.

Born Hazel Francis on April 23, 1940 to Mary Baptiste and Morris Francis, she was the second of 14 children. Hazel grew up in Caratal, Gasparillo, and says she did not have so-called childhood days.

She remembers being devastated by the separation of her parents and moving out of their home to Sisters Road in New Grant to stay with her grandmother for awhile, before moving in with her mother.

In an interview with the Catholic News, Hazel said: “I had a hard life, wasn’t given the opportunity to be a young girl. When I wasn’t cooking I was washing, cleaning and seeing about my brothers and sisters.”

She said she never got the chance to go out and enjoy life and play with her peers. That’s why she looked forward to going to choir practice on Saturdays and church on Sundays; those were the only places she was allowed to go.

“I enjoyed going to my choir practice. Other than that, the rest of the week I had to stay home and work,” she revealed.

Hazel said her family’s living conditions were very hard so they had to grow their own food, which consisted mainly of ground provisions, and also rear chickens. Up to this day Hazel doesn’t eat ground provisions and certain vegetables, saying she has had her fill of them.

She admitted to getting a lot of licks and explained: “In those days, country people did not listen and did not know how to communicate with their children… They preferred to listen to every complaint and were quick to share licks, and I get good licks for everything and nothing.”

When Hazel was 14 years old she decided enough was enough and ran away from home. She made arrangements with a friend to take her to Port of Spain. She recalled: “It was a Tuesday and I was so lucky I get a sleep-in job the same day.” This was with a doctor, taking care of his two children.

She said the doctor and his wife had two lovely girls and she was happy with the family. Hazel stayed on with them until the doctor’s contract in Trinidad was up and he had to return to England. She remembers that that was around the time Sparrow sang his popular “Jean and Dinah” calypso.

As the children had become extremely attached to her, the doctor wanted to take Hazel to England with the family as the nanny but, because she was under-age, consent was needed from her parents. Hazel was afraid to go back to the ‘country’ to ask her mother for consent, as she felt her relatives were ashamed of her and had probably disowned her by then.

The doctor had to leave and Hazel, with nowhere to go, was forced to return to the ‘country’, where she hooked up with a Pollard Sylvester and started a family. They had three children.

She said life was still hard and she worked even harder now, trying to provide for her children. It did not take that long for her to begin to feel the need to get away again. She missed Port of Spain and especially missed her independence.

Opportunity for a better life

One day, her sister-in-law – who lived in Port of Spain - visited them and realised that Hazel was unhappy. She offered to assist her in getting away again from the country life. She told Hazel she was a nice girl and that the hard lifestyle was not for her. Hazel gladly accepted the offer of assistance and arrangements were made.

The sister-in-law got her a job as a nanny taking care of two children in Tunapuna. Hazel left her own children - one girl and two boys - with their father and grasped the opportunity for a better life.

Hazel said, “I did not feel bad or guilty because they were in a safe place and in good hands, with their father.”  She remarked that if she had stayed any longer she would have gone mad; she needed to get out of Sisters Road.

She took up her new job and enjoyed it fully. Life became comfortable; her exact description was “life was sweet”. She said she dressed nicely, was able to take care of herself and provide for her children.

Hazel Francis

She got a half-day off every week and one weekend every month, so she took the opportunity to visit her children, take groceries and clothes for them and spend some quality time catching up on their lives.

The couple she worked for later separated but the children remained with the husband and he kept Hazel on as their nanny. One day he got her angry and she walked off the job.

As fate would have it, Hazel landed a new job with a Valsayn family, this time having to take care of only one child and also doing domestic duties. That job, she said, was also quite comfortable - but she was starting to miss her own children more.

Realising that they were getting older, she wanted more time with them and an opportunity to give them a better life also. Hazel felt it was time to take them out of the country life and bring them to town, in particular to get a better education.

She rented an apartment for $15 a month and decided not to take any more sleep-in jobs. She left the job in Valsayn and got another one in Barataria, this time with ‘regular’ working hours - 7 to 5. Hazel said the situation was not ideal and she had to make a lot of sacrifices, but she and her children were happy as they were all together and that’s what really mattered.

When she wasn’t attending to family or work duties, Hazel said she enjoyed a good party and loved to dance to the Joey Lewis and Ray Sylvester Orchestras. When she dressed for these parties, she said, “nobody recognised me as I was the hottest thing on the floor”.

In 1978, Hazel landed a job to handle maintenance at the Catholic Centre with the late Fr John Mendes. She decided it was time to give up all other domestic jobs. She spoke about working at the Centre under Mr Mohammed, Fr Rudy Mohammed’s father, whom she described as a very interesting person.  

Fr Garfield Rochard then came on board and he played a major role in her life. When she became ill, he stood by her. “All through the years I’ve dealt with him he has always been good to me and always concerned about me,” she said.

She lost her father that same year - on her birthday, April 23. She also got married that year, on June 13, to James Weekes.

Now Mrs Hazel Weekes, she lived a comfortable life being a good wife to her husband and enjoying her job at the Centre.

Hazel confessed that her years at the centre under Sr Marie Thérèse were tough but described her as a nice, caring person. She considers Sr Marie the best ‘building manager’ ever. She noted that Sr Marie was also the only person who tried hard to get her an increase in salary.

Hazel has never lost interest in the Centre or its operations. She became involved with the Catholic News by assuming responsibility for getting the ‘master sheets’ to the printers (Syncreatures in those days) and collecting important items, stationery, anything associated with the printing of the newspaper. Hazel felt useful and was happy to invest a lot of her interest and time in the production of the Catholic News.

When the Trinidad Express took over the printing contract, she continued her duties. She did all the running around, functioning as a courier. She said she came to know every part of the Express building.

Hazel still remembers the day the Express dumped the Catholic News in error. She had dropped off the master sheets as usual but the cleaners picked up the box by mistake and threw it in the garbage. She still relates how the supervisors of the Traffic and Production Departments searched unsuccessfully through the dump - the “Labasse” - for the master sheets.

That remains the one and only week the Catholic News was not published since its launch.

Hazel fondly recalled that on Thursdays when the paper had been printed she would bring over copies to the Centre and that she and former employee Tressa Ramdeen would, many times until after 8 at night, wrap and stamp the papers for subscribers. The late Tony Forte, Catholic News photographer, would assist on Friday’s with distribution.

Hazel said she did it all with love and for love. She said even though times have changed and a lot of things have changed with it, she feels comfortable working with the present editor and staff.

She describes Managing Editor June Johnston as a very warm and generous person who always takes the time to listen to her problems and make her feel special.

Her only regret

Her husband is now dead, her three children are all grown with their own families and she currently has seven grandchildren and two ‘great-grands’.

Life might not be perfect but Hazel said: “I am happy and comfortable now, especially as I am living on my own.”

She has been at the Catholic Centre for 29 years now and even when on vacation can’t resist dropping in to visit.

As the interview drew to a close, Hazel said she wanted to thank everyone who played a major role in her life in any way. She singled out sub-editor Andy Pitman who, she said, was responsible for her being able to read.

“I learnt by force,” she explained, saying her only regret in life was not having had the opportunity to go to school and receive a formal education.

At 67, Hazel still enjoys life to the fullest, loves a good lime and continues to help out with anything she’s asked to do. She still wraps the Catholic News for distribution to subscribers every Thursday, saying it’s a task she truly enjoys.

She is thankful to the staff at the Catholic News and the entire Centre for making her feel appreciated and hopes to maintain a warm relationship with everyone at the Centre until her final goodbye.

Hazel is truly a mother to all at the Centre and is well deserving of a Happy Mother’s Day.

We at the Catholic News pay full tribute to “our” Hazel - mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, sister, friend, mentor, adviser, part-time security guard - and so much more.

God bless you Hazel.