An Open Letter to Perth-Andover

Your Village Smells So Good. And the Natural Beauty is Beyond Dispute.

I officially gave up residence in your community on July 1st, 2017, close to a year and half after moving here, and I wanted to fulfill a commitment I made to Stephanie of writing something for the Blackfly Gazette. A piece on my experience in your town, and now partially my town, seemed like the perfect way to fulfill this commitment and also a great way to thank all of you for making me feel more welcomed by the entire municipality, than is normally possible, in my experience, when moving to a new place.

For those of you whom I didn’t have the privilege of meeting, and maybe for those of you who I should have known better, I was the Manager, Customer Service (essentially the Assistant Manager), at the local Scotiabank on the Perth side of the Saint John River. I moved to town in late January and spent my first month commuting between P.A. and Fredericton and while in town I lived in the Castle Inn.

The Castle Inn is truly one of the gems of the River Valley, it’s charm and immediate familiarity make it an easy choice when trying to find a place to stay in town. The staff that welcomed me and the casual travellers that I ran into while living there were always full of conversation and stories that filled my ears with entertainment (special shout out to Jim and Rochelle for hosting me well while I was there). But it’s beyond it’s welcoming lodging where I feel the importance of the Castle Inn cannot be understated. It is a very important venue for the community from the social events that it hosts like Gathering of the Scots, Hullaballoo, weddings and graduations to other charitable endeavors such as hosting the local Rotary Club, that may sometimes be overlooked or forgotten. The community should do everything it can to ensure that the Castle Inn is a central part of your community for generations to come and because of the quality of this community, I know it will.

The quality of which I speak is a genuine and realness. As with everywhere and everyone, not everyone will get along or enjoy the company of all, but overwhelming I have this to say on the people of the Village of Perth-Andover. Everyone had a story to tell and uniqueness about him or her. I learned something fascinating whether I knew you well or we just had a glancing conversation on Main Street or in Mr. B’s. You all talk to each other in person, for better or worse, (which is doesn't seem to happen as much in an urban centre); and this leads to one of my favourite stories to tell of Perth-Andover. In short, when I arrived in town my first day, I filled my car with gas at the Irving, and the attendant knew who I was, what I would be doing in town, and had some helpful thoughts about where I should consider living, all with me not having to introduce myself. But as I mentioned before, you are welcoming…If I wanted to experience some part of “country” living, all I had to do was ask and the everyone was more than willing to invite me into their home, their yard, their world to show me just how things work. People take time for each other; I stopped and had conversations on the street, people wave at each other. Life isn’t so rushed. These are all extremely admirable qualities in a person and a people. I urge you to continue to be welcoming and inviting to all the kinds of people, continue to get to know your neighbours better and continue to invite diversity and different cultures into your community, it is what will continue to make you even stronger in generations to come.

I had two permanent residences in Perth-Andover, one was overlooking the Saint John River and the other was up on Terrace Street. My experience living on top of the Saint John River was un-parallel to anywhere else I’ve had the privilege to live in Canada in terms of its beauty. Waking up each morning and being able to look out on to the River and the tail ends of the Appalachian Mountain Range were a real treat. Sitting out on the balcony and enjoying a beer in the evening summer breeze while seeing Bald Eagles fly by was something I had never experienced before and continue to look back fondly upon. In the winter it was watching and more specifically hearing the ice flow and break up in the Saint John in late March woke me up more than once and fascinated me, as long as I was safely above the danger. The other thing that I relished about this particular spot was the privacy that it had. I was still in the centre of things and conveniently close to everything, but removed as well to a certain degree and, for someone who’s new to a community, that allowed me to ease into Perth-Andover and get the lay of the land before having to dive in full throttle. I really loved that dwelling and it was really difficult to give up, but my landlords were generous and helpful with the transition to Terrace Street.

My dwelling on Terrace Street was really nice as well. It was in a great and grand home that had everything you wanted and a lot of great memories were made there. I had some great neighbours as well as some questionable neighbours. It was during my time here that I met my girlfriend and celebrated holidays more like I had my own family than I had before and that was truly special. It didn’t quite have the views that I had had, but my time there was special nonetheless and the memories that I have from that home will never leave my heart.

Besides where I lived, what my job was, and my appreciation for the wonderful people I met, I also had the opportunity to do and experience some incredible things.

1. I was a judge in a high school girl’s beauty pageant – I was not aware before my invitation to this event that these still existed. It was an experience.

2. I went to the World Pond Hockey Championship in Plaster Rock – this was a dream of mine, and one day I hope to return to play in the Championships

3. I was part of the local Rotary Club – a club that is continuing to evolve and change and does so much good in the community; I hope its importance only grows.

4. Going to town hockey games - this was an experience, the feverish environment and complete attention of the village to these games was really cool.

5. Being treasurer and MC for Relay for Life - this was a lot of fun and I was very privileged to have done this. What a wonderful event.

6. Volunteering at this breakfast Program at PAMS.

7. Hiking Mount Carleton

8.  Mountain Biking, Skiing, and Golfing in Maine – these were my most treasured and meditative moments while living in Perth-Andover; they will be some of the things I miss most about living here.

9. Fishing on the Saint John River and running out of gas because gas was syphoned out of the boat to fuel four wheelers.

10. The tour of the Tinker Dam

11. Tasting and Gathering of the Scots

12. Experiencing and learning about the First Nations Community

13. The immense wildlife surrounding and within the community

14. Eating at R&J’s Pizza, Mr. B’s, Bistro, Dairy Bars (in the summer I use to take drives on Sundays and go hunting for new dairy bars, I loved this tradition), PJs, Little Pizza House

15. I had the opportunity to ride a horse, not in the village, but while living here

16. I had the opportunity to fly in a Cessna plane and also briefly fly it

17. Going to a Pig Roast

18. Preparing my own food (incredible)
 

I have had the opportunity to experience a lot of tremendous things in my short life, and I feel very privileged and lucky to be able to add the experiences that I’ve had in Perth-Andover to that list.

It was an interesting and new and exciting and challenging time.  I wish I had done more, but alas life gets in the way of the best laid plans. My deepest thanks and appreciation goes to those I had the privilege from learning and interacting with and from.

You don't have to do everything right everyday, just today.

Best regards,

I.R.D.H.