Marita McNulty's "Meet Me in the Market" Radio Show

By Mike Forestell - 30 December 2025

Born Mary Reta Barrett, Mrs. McNulty was well known in Saint John as a trained singer and talented stage actress. In the words of Ralph Costello, she was also "that lively, vivacious, sparkling personality of radio - the one who conducted the Meet me in the Market broadcast".

Meet me in the Market was a live radio show that ran midday on weekdays in the 1950s and 60s. Marita would interview Saint John City Market vendors to let listeners know what new items were for sale in the Market and at what price. In addition, she would interview customers and passers-by on a range of subjects.

In the first picture, courtesy of the Provincial Archives of NB (P415-3822), you can see Marita chatting with a vendor of produce and potted flowers (note the pencil behind the vendor's ear!). The second is from an ad in the October 30, 1961 Telegraph-Journal.

Marita McNulty hosted a number of other radio programs, and later moved to Charlottetown, where she continued her career as the first public relations officer of UPEI.