Retired Lifelong Saint Johners Would Live Nowhere Else But Here
SAINT JOHN — Judith Meinert and Ralph Thomas were born and raised in Saint John’s surrounding areas and spent most of their careers working in Saint John until retirement. They have been together 18 years and have lived uptown even longer.
If you ask them, they’ll tell you they have no plans of leaving any time soon.
“It’s such a lovely place,” said Meinert. “People are helpful and welcoming, and they will help you out whenever possible. It’s got everything from shopping, to fashion, to arts and culture.”
Meinert was born in a village once known as Torryburn that is now a part of Saint John near Kennebecasis Park. At 19, she moved closer to the city centre and spent her career as an elementary school teacher.
Thomas was born and raised in Willow Grove, a village outside the city limits near St. Martin’s. His career was mostly spent in the automotive trade and in sales.
Retirement hasn’t slowed either of them down. Thomas became a founding member of the New Brunswick Black History Society where he continues to volunteer and work and has helped establish boxing clubs around the city. Meinert has continued to perform work as a clerk, an executive director of AIDS Saint John, and has helped young adults get their GEDs through teaching.
“I’m in my eighties, now 82, and I wouldn’t trade this city for anywhere else in the world. It’s just the place to be,” said Thomas, who traveled to different parts of the world as a boxer.
As uptown residents, Meinert and Thomas love being in walking distance of restaurants, galleries, and shopping.
“It’s just a convenient place to be and it’s just so beautiful. The city is beautiful, especially the Uptown area. And if you drive anywhere, you’re going to see lushness and flowers and trees, especially this time of year,” said Meinert.
Meinert particularly loves going to the City Market, walking the uptown streets like Germain, Canterbury, and Prince William, but she has a special place in her heart for Tin Can Beach in the city’s south end.
“If you go down there once a month, from May until November, you’re going to see a different place every time. One time you’ll see fields of lupins and next time, it’s daisies and clovers,” she said. “I haven’t been down there for about a month and if I went down there now it would be a different place. It’s so charming and accessible.”
For Thomas, the less busy areas of the city are where he finds the most joy. He likes visiting some of the rural areas near his childhood home in Willow Grove, but is also taken by Rockwood Park, which sits in the middle of the city and is the largest urban park in Canada.
“As you grew with your community, you see how it develops so much,” he said.
The couple say that there is no place like Saint John and they love seeing the development around the city. Their neighbourhood will soon be home to the new residential complex building, The Landmark.
“You just can’t beat Saint John and its surrounding areas. It’s just a super place to be, whether you’re young or our age,” said Thomas. “It’s just the place to be.”
This story is sponsored by the City of Saint John