Local Business Owner Garners Support From Community After Break In

Treasures and Memories, a custom engraving business in Brookdale Plaza, was broken into on Saturday though encouragement from the community is helping the business to recover.

Photo courtesy of Treasures and Memories.

“When we received the call from Peterborough Police in the early morning hours, I was panicked.,” said Barb Smith, owner. “When we arrived and saw the amount of destruction and damages, I was completely overwhelmed and a feeling of bleak, desperate defeat came over me.”

Smith opened the shop in late 2019 right before the pandemic hit. Like other business owners she has been struggling to navigate the changing restrictions, though with perseverance she has been able to grow her business.

When the thief broke in they smashed the main window, and merchandise in the store causing about $2,500 in damage that will not be covered by insurance.

“As the day wore on, sitting in the freezing cold, waiting for the window to be replaced, I was ready to give up, call it quits,” said Smith. “Then I started receiving calls from concerned customers. They lifted me up and encouraged me to persevere.”

Smith started a GoFundMe in hopes to recover from this loss.

“It is the wonderful customers we have and the support of our beautiful community that is making it easier to persevere, regroup and carry on,” she said. “The community we live and work in, is overall, very supportive and this is what will allow us to pick ourselves up, dust everything off and be the successful business I know we can be.”

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