Brian Houle

by Lynne Ober

Many residents in Hudson may not know his name, but they know who he is. With a warm and ready smile for all those people he meets, Brian Houle was their postman. He has delivered mail in Hudson for thirty-one years, and on April 1, 2004, Brian retired.

Married since 1971, Brian and his wife Donna, reside in Nashua. Many years ago, Brian’s dad gave him land, and it was there they built their home. It is in this house that Brian and his wife have raised five children, three boys and two girls. While Brian worked, his wife remained home to raise the children. “She enjoyed raising the children. She is also a great cook, she makes the ‘best’ chicken soup,” he says with pride. Like all large families, they struggled to provide the best for their children. “I would work overtime and my wife would cut coupons to get the best deals.” “Our children are well adjusted,” he added. Adding to the family, they also have four grandchildren.

Brian graduated from High School in 1966. He served in the Air Force from 1968 to1972. “It was interesting,” he said. “I went to Korea, Australia, and the Philippines.”

After he left the air force, he worked, for about a year, at an electronics company that was once located on route 111. Then some one told him that the post office was hiring. “I went and applied, took the exam and passed, and have been doing this job ever since,” he said with a big smile. “I have always looked forward to going to work.” “The weather never, really bothered me,” he added. “The best part of this job has been all the people I have met.” “Like any job, you make mistakes once awhile. You put the wrong letter in the wrong mailbox and people get upset. I tell them I am sorry. What else can you say? Most times people were understanding.” I will miss all the people.” Brian was an annual volunteer on the Postal Service Food Drive Day each year. This year, although no longer a Postal employee, Brian plans to do relief work this Saturday, May 8 to help out the Food Drive efforts. “It’s suppose to be nice on Saturday and I intend to help them off load food from their mail trucks throughout the day,” said Houle.

Brian plans to do some home projects now that he is retired. He plans to re-do his bathroom with all new fixtures and tile. “I told my wife to make a list of items that need to be done. I asked her to write down ten items at a time and told her that I will go by the list.”

Brian likes to fish and loves the ocean. “If I could have made one significant change in my life, it would have been to live near the ocean.” His idea of a great vacation would to be able to spend the entire summer on Prince Edward Island, in Canada. Brian and his family vacationed many summers for several weeks on Prince Edward Island. “It is a beautiful place,” he added.

Brian’s favorite holiday is Memorial Day. “It is the holiday that kicks off summer.” His favorite dessert is Banana Foster, “It is to die for,” he said with a great big smile. Brian also likes antiques and hopes to attend some auctions. One truly enjoyable activity that Brian likes is to take his wife out to dinner. “She has cooked so many meals over the years, I love taking her out.” One thing Brian would like to be able to do is to re-do an old car. “I would enjoy fixing up an old hot rod, but not go over board spending a lot of money.”

Community Questions

HLN: What is your favorite book?

Houle: Brian likes to read mostly newspapers. His favorite book is the Bible. “I read the Bible several times a week. I believe the Bible is the road map to life.”

HLN: What do you think is the biggest change in Hudson?

Houle: The biggest change that Brian has seen during the thirty-one years he has been delivering mail in Hudson, is the growth. Brian stated, “It would be good if the state or town could do something about the traffic conditions on Lowell Road.”

HLN: If you could ask a question of the Selectmen, what would it be?

Houle: “I would like to know why the city of Nashua wants to purchase Pennichuck Water Works.” “I would like to understand their reasons,” he added.

HLN: If you could ask President Bush a question, what would it be?

Houle: “I would ask him about our domestic dollars. It is okay to help other countries, but I want to know why he does not put more of those dollars back into his own country, where it is needed.”