Pamela Stuart and Darryl Shoemaker are one of several couples who met at the Veiner Centre since its grand reopening in 2021.--NEWS PHOTO KENDALL KING
kking@medicinehatnews.com@kkingmhn
There are a number of things community members 50-plus are likely to find when visiting Medicine Hat’s Veiner Centre – activities, socialization opportunities and warm bistro meals to name a few.
But some have also unexpectedly found love at the centre, like Hatters Pamela Stuart and Darryl Shoemaker.
Stuart and Shoemaker met at the Veiner Centre in November 2021, though it’s a wonder they hadn’t met previously as both had been members before the centre’s temporary shutdown in 2020.
“I would come here to play pool and he would come here to play pool,” Stuart told the News. “Though, I’ve never seen him before. Then in November (2021), I’d been playing with my friends one morning and they left, so I was just practising by myself when this guy comes along. He’s standing there, watching me, making me feel really nervous, so after a while I said ‘Do you want to play?’ and he said ‘Well, I’m not very good.’ And I said ‘That’s OK, because neither am I.'”
In the weeks following the pair would often run into each other and would usually end up sharing in a game of pool, ping-pong or lunch.
“I just felt so comfortable with him,” said Stuart. “We only met in November, but by January I moved in with him.”
Shoemaker joked that Stuart followed him home and stayed there, which elicited a chuckle from both, however he too expressed happiness at their meeting.
“It was great,” said Shoemaker. “I was tired of being by myself and bored to death.”
Much of Shoemaker and Stuart’s time is now spent together. The couple visit the Veiner Centre three days each week, visiting the Strathcona Centre the other two days. And if not frequenting the centres, they are likely off on a vacation.
“We went to Mexico last November,” said Stuart. “And we did a trip to Manitoba last year, as he’s from Manitoba, so he showed me where he grew up.”
Shoemaker flipped through his phone showing numerous photos from their Mexico trip, as well as pointing out their beloved pets Maisy, a Cavalier King Charles spaniel, and Murphy, an orange tabby cat.
The two banter continuously as they tell of their ongoing adventures from travel to home projects, but both enjoy it; Shoemaker who likes making Stuart laugh, and Stuart who loves Shoemaker’s smile.
And Stuart and Shoemaker are not the only couple to meet at Veiner Centre. Since its reopening, they are reportedly one of at least three couples to have found each other there.
