Ron and Hilda Ball took a leap of faith with then smaller operator Ryman Healthcare, when they moved more than quarter of a century ago into Beckenham Courts Retirement Village.
The change up – into village life – has certainly worked out for the very best, and the couple has enjoyed decades of kindness and care.
This month, Ryman celebrated its 40th birthday and Ron and Hilda remain two of the longest-residing residents in Ryman’s network of 48 villages across New Zealand and Australia.
The decision to move into the Beckenham Courts complex, now known as Essie Summers Village, came partly because Hilda faced significant health problems and it suited Ron who had just entered his retirement.
The pair thrived in the new setting, and their move in 1997 was more than a decade before the disruptive and damaging Canterbury earthquakes of 2010 and 2011, which resulted in a major rebuild of the village centre.
After the earthquakes, the village underwent a complete transformation and was renamed Essie Summers, after the renowned Christchurch-based romance writer. This was in line with a new tradition Ryman was establishing of naming its villages after great New Zealanders.
Ron and Hilda are now some of Ryman’s longest-residing residents in a single village, and have plenty of stories to share from their 27 years at Essie Summers. They still fondly recall moving into townhouse in 1997.
It was in that very townhouse that the February 22, 2011 earthquake shook things up. Widespread damage occurred throughout Christchurch, with brick garden walls collapsing and cracks appearing in the village walls and window frames.
Village Manager Rosemary Deane said she started in her role in November 2006 and the quake sequence that started four years later was a defining moment for her.
She was at the top of the South Island on holiday with family at the Totaranui Beach campground on February 22 when the quake struck.
“It was just by pure coincidence and serendipity really that our plumber was also at the grounds, so we jumped in his van and drove back the next morning,” she remembers.
For the next couple of years, the residents watched on as a village centre was reconstructed. Trucks and workers were constantly on the move, busy with a rebuild that included driving deep support piles into the ground to ensure the village would be stronger than ever.
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