'The nuns knew how to make it work': Saint John school alumnae remembers historic building in wake of sale

The historic former St. Vincent's High School building is pictured. (Courtesy: Jason Stephen)

Decades after she graduated from St. Vincent’s High School in Saint John, N.B., Marijke Blok’s mother would still talk about how the boys in town got the nice new school while the girls were sent to an older building.

Blok’s mother, who graduated in 1945, was one of hundreds of girls who passed through the halls of St. Vincent’s High School since it originally opened its doors in 1899. The building was originally built for girls, but the boys wound up going there instead. When St. Malachy’s Memorial High School opened its doors in 1954, the boys moved there and the girls entered the historic building.

“Up until 1919, the school was housed at St Vincent’s Convent,” said Blok, who graduated in 1979. “It was a big building but they wanted to educate the higher grades. They had Grade 12 (students) learning in the hallways, so they built the current building in 1919.

“In 1954, they built St Malachy’s and the girls thought they were going to get this new school, but instead they got the old St Vincent’s.”

Blok is still involved with her old school through the St. Vincent’s Alumnae Association, which was started by Rev. Sister M. Francesca in 1902. The school itself saw its last graduating class in 2002 and after more than 20 years of dormancy, it’s finally been sold.

According to realtor Jason Stephen, the property, which was on the market for a while, was sold last week for $700,000. Stephen said the buyer did not want to comment on the sale.

“The church had plans for redevelopment of the property, but for whatever reason that project never took off,” Stephen said. “They tasked me with taking it to the market. It had quite a bit of activity last year and we brought it back to the market this year and we were able to obtain a buyer. I’m excited to see it redeveloped.”

Blok said she’s excited to see the school enter the next stage of its already storied history.

“I’m cautiously optimistic and interested to see how this group will do differently,” she said.

Blok said graduates from the school across the decades have been able to reconnect and support other students through the Alumnae Society and share their stories about the historic property.

“I know people who graduated in 1969 and when I was there (in 1979) the paint on the walls (had) greens and pinks and yellows, and a friend said it looked like that in 1969,” Blok said. “It was well cared for.”

Blok said the alumnae association is keeping the spirit of the school alive through its scholarship program.

“The school was built for educating young women and the alumnae’s goal is to foster that,” she said. “I think we gave 15 scholarships to different girls this year. They’re not huge, but we’d like to keep doing it as long as we can.”

Reflecting on her time in the school, Blok’s mind wanders to the small slice of life moments that defined her time in the historic building, memories that will last for its countless graduates.

“When I think about it, I think of all the funny little things like when you were late for class you had to walk through other classes to get to your class,” she said. “A lot of the heating came from St. Joseph’s Hospital. The nuns knew how to make it work.”

For more New Brunswick news visit our dedicated provincial page.