Super day for seniors
Ninth annual Seniors’ Day event held at city hall
Senior citizens gathered at St. John’s City Hall Wednesday at 12 p.m. for the ninth Seniors’ Day event. The doors were opened and the seniors where invited inside.
Booths with information about everything from accessible transportation to affordable housing were set up. Lunch was provided for the seniors, along with presentations from a variety of speakers.
At the foot of the stairs next to the registration table on the second level of city hall, Dr. Glenn Barry, an instructor with the city’s music programs, provided background music on his accordion.
Barry said many seniors are active in the community and the city has a lot of good programs — from music lessons to dance classes — available to seniors that he hopes will continue.
Across from the registration table were booths offering different services to the seniors who attended.
Seniors such as Maureen Brennan were looking around the area.
When asked if she considered herself a senior, Brennan responded with, “Let’s that go … I guess I am.”
Brennan had travelled around the world because her husband was in the military, but now she has come back home and only leaves the province during winter.
“I enjoy the summers here,” Brennan said. “I used to enjoy the winters here, too, when I was younger.”
Brennan came to the celebration with her friend Ruth Bishop, a retired nurse.
Bishop said that according to advertisements about Metrobus, it was free for seniors today. However, she could not wait at a bus stop because standing is hard on her back. So, a week before the event, she called Metrobus and found there was a waiting list for cases like hers. Brennan and Bishop decided to call a taxi, so they could go to the event on their own.
Bishop said she can drive, but to get a certificate she had to fill out “pages of forms” and it was too much for her. That is not her only complaint.
“I have gone through $4,000 worth of hearing aids,” Bishop said.
She added that many seniors stay away from crowds because, like her, they cannot hear very well in them.
Bishop was also not too happy about a booth featuring information on a personal assistant program because “$35 an hour” is too much for her, but she does need help cleaning. Bishop said when she used a spin mop it caused pain in her hip because of how hard she had to push down on the pedal with her foot.
Lunch was served in the Foran/greene Room. Frank Pennell was sitting in the rows of seats at the back of the room. He faced the tables and the stage behind them, where the speakers would be during presentations. Pennell said he is retired from the Royal Canadian Air Force and he is in good health because he “walks every day.”
Pennell is content in his retirement and the only thing that worried him is when the sidewalks are covered in snow during the winter.
“That can be dangerous,” he said.
At the event, seniors were given calendars about all the city events organized for seniors scheduled for the coming months. Events include outings, seniors’ socials, swimming parties and more until the end of August.
The Seniors’ Day event also
included recognition of the 2018 St. John’s Senior Citizen of the Year, Joe Pearcey.