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At 91 Years Old, Woman from Blumenau Hired by Havan Retailer After Viral Video, Becomes the Oldest Employee of the Company and Symbolizes a Rare Movement for Age Inclusion in the Formal Market, in Contrast to Recent Data on Hiring and Dismissals of Seniors in Brazil, in Santa Catarina and the Municipality
Mrs. Maria Wostehoff, 91, became the new employee of Havan after going viral in a video requesting work, being invited by Luciano Hang, and was received this Monday (5) at the Central Blumenau store, according to NSC Total.
Hiring After Viral Video
A resident of the Velha neighborhood, Mrs. Maria appeared in a recording telling her granddaughter that she wanted to work at the Santa Catarina retailer, demonstrating willingness, energy, and a desire to stay active.
The content reached the businessman and owner of Havan, Luciano Hang, who decided to hire her and dedicated the first hours of this Monday (5) to personally welcome her at the central unit.
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The reception included colleagues from the store, marking a moment of emotion and symbolism for the company and for the newly hired employee herself.
Work History and Active Routine at Havan
Before the new hiring, Mrs. Maria worked as a school lunch lady, did cleaning in educational institutions, and worked for three decades in a doctor’s house.
Stopping was never a reality for her, although she slowed down after retirement and had no formal ties in recent years.
Restless, she said in the video that she had “energy, willingness, good ideas” to continue working, a message that ended up gaining traction on social media.
During the reception, she said she cried in the morning at the thought of having her work card signed again at her advanced age.
Symbolic Role within the Company
At Havan, Mrs. Maria will be a sort of ambassador, without a daily shift or long hours, occasionally participating in customer service.
With this, she becomes the oldest employee of the company, which has around 23,000 employees spread throughout Brazil.
In February, Mrs. Maria will turn 92, an age that reinforces the symbolic nature of the hiring within the corporate environment.
Luciano Hang stated that in the company, people work while they are happy, and that Mrs. Maria represents pride and an example to the country.
Contrast with Data from the Formal Market
The hiring goes against the data from the General Register of Employed and Unemployed (CAGED), which indicates a negative balance for people aged 65 and older. The following data is from NSC Total.
Between January and November of last year, Brazil recorded 114,242 admissions and 179,126 dismissals, resulting in a balance of -64,884 in this age group.
In Santa Catarina, there were 7,082 admissions and 9,410 dismissals, resulting in a balance of -2,328, according to CAGED.
In Blumenau, the figures show 431 admissions, 509 dismissals, and a balance of -78, a scenario that contextualizes the exception represented by the new employee, even with small typing errors throughout the account.
With information from NSC Total.
You May Also Like: He Arrived by Plane in One of the Most Remote Areas of the Planet, Cut Down Logs by Hand, Built a Cabin Without Machines, and Lived for Decades Isolated Only by What Nature Offered
In the summer of 1968, Richard Proenneke arrived by plane at Upper Twin Lake, in southwestern Alaska, to live alone, build a cabin, and document a self-sufficiency experience that would become a reference.
The small monoplane landed on the shoreline carved by ancient glaciers, carrying hand tools, canvas bags, and basic provisions to begin solitary life.
When the plane disappeared behind the Neacola Mountains in the Aleutian Range, Proenneke remained alone, aware of the distance from the road and any human neighbor.
Education and Motivations
Born in Iowa, he lived through the Great Depression in his childhood, developing a strict relationship with resources, rigorous economy, and rejection of daily waste.
During World War II, he served in the United States Navy as a carpenter and mechanic, learning essential wood and metal working techniques.
After the conflict, he worked as a diesel engine mechanic in Kodiak, during which time he matured the project of living self-sufficiently.
Site Selection and Preparation
In 1967, he visited Twin Lakes to study terrain, wind, snow, and sun exposure, cutting down fir trees and preparing materials for the planned construction.
Upon returning permanently in 1968, he intended to stay only one year, taking a 16 mm camera, tripod, and dozens of notebooks for systematic notes.
The cabin measured about 3.6 by 4.8 meters, built only with hand-hewn logs, without the use of machines.
He used saddle notch joints, carved with an axe and chisel, ensuring structural stability and thermal insulation during winters.
The roof received thin logs, vegetation cover, and grass, creating natural protection against cold, wind, and constant moisture.
He built a wood storage shed elevated about 2.7 meters off the ground, keeping the wood dry and protected from animals.
He also erected an annex for firewood and an outdoor bathroom, following functional, durable, and spatial organization criteria.
The tools used had handles carved by Proenneke himself, adapted to daily tasks and environmental conditions.
Routine and Subsistence
In summer, he took advantage of the constant light to cut firewood, fish for salmon, gather wild fruits, and record environmental observations.
In winter, he faced extreme temperatures, continuously fed the fire, repaired tools, and wrote reflections by lamp light.
The food came from fishing, gathering, and, during part of his life, subsistence hunting, always with complete utilization.
With the establishment of Lake Clark National Park and Preserve in 1980, he stopped hunting, maintaining practices compatible with the new regulations.
His diaries describe the landscape’s responses to human presence, indicating how simple decisions could preserve local balances.
Occasional Human Contact of the Lonely Man from Alaska
Despite living alone, he received pilots, forest rangers, and occasional visitors, keeping the cabin unlocked and maps updated.
He offered tea, engaged in lengthy conversations, and indicated trails, demonstrating hospitality even in isolation hard to access.
The story gained prominence with the book One Man’s Wilderness, published in 1973 from his personal diaries.
His footage led to the documentary Alone in the Wilderness, released after his death in 2003.
More than 250 written notebooks have been published since 2005, forming a detailed record of self-sufficient living in Alaska.
While watching the sunrise over Twin Lakes, Proenneke stated he did not want to miss anything around him, a synthesis of a life shaped by manual labor, continuous attention, and direct coexistence with nature.
With information from Filson.
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