For the residents of the Roberta Place Retirement Lodge, being retired doesn’t mean retiring from life’s pleasures.
The Roberta Place Retirement Lodge is home to 116 residents who are a part of the independent and supportive living community.
While the facility offers several staff and medical personnel, recreational coordinator Samantha Perry told BarrieToday that while living in the lodge allows one to be a member of a tight-knit community, it does not mean the city is off limits for discovering.
“It does feel like a community atmosphere here, but it is important to remember we are a community within a larger community,” said Perry. “It is so important for residents to know they are still members of the society and they still have so much to contribute to it. When we’re younger we hear people say that the world is ours to explore but even when you’re 95 years old, it is still yours to explore.”
Being an independent living facility, all that is needed to get some residents out is to post an event and wait for sign-ups.
Roberta Place has a van for travelling and takes residents to the city’s outdoor movies in the summer, craft shows, beer tastings and even the upcoming Living Well Expo at Georgian Downs.
Recently, some residents at the 489 Essa Rd. facility hit Lake Simcoe for some ice fishing and to participate in one of the lodge’s many outdoor excursions.
“We have a couple of gentlemen here at the lodge who really enjoy fishing and, in the summer, we were able to get them to the Barrie waterfront in a couple different locations to help them continue their love of the hobby,” said Perry.
“Winter can get people a little down and I asked these gentlemen if they wanted to try heading out for some ice fishing and they were all for it.”
Doug Suter was one of the men who took to the ice and tried to reel in a big one. His love of fishing goes back to his childhood. Suter has been known to go up to Brunswick Lake, north of Kapuskasing to try his luck.
“I like fishing and have been doing it since I was a kid,” said Suter, who turned 80 years young this past Monday. “We got a couple good fish out of it but it was a good time.”
Suter likes the outdoors and is not only a lively resident of Roberta Place, but also very helpful as he does a lot of the gardening around the property.
“I like to get outdoors and I try to stay active,” said Suter. “I really like walking and gardening, but golfing is my thing and looking after golf courses.”
