RAYMOND – Don Drew, longtime owner of Cricket’s Corner in Raymond, wants to know the identity of the Grinch who stole his Christmas lights display.
Drew, who has owned the gift shop on Route 302 in downtown Raymond for 12 years, bought $150 worth of multicolor LED lights at Lowe’s in North Windham the day after Thanksgiving, then strung them in the two rhododendron bushes and two window boxes in front of the cozy shop.
Last Saturday, however, when staff went to light the display in the afternoon, all the lights were gone, removed by a bold daylight robber.
“We were all dumbfounded,” Drew said. “We couldn’t believe it.”
In addition to the lights, the thief took several extension cords. Removal of the lights had to take some time, Drew theorizes, since he had wound them around the branches, some of which had broken off and were lying on the ground on Monday.
The amazing aspect of the robbery, Drew said, is that it took place on one of the busiest shopping days of the year and in broad daylight, sometime between 2 and 3:30 p.m.
Drew was able to narrow in on the time frame because an employee remembers seeing the lights when she went out at 2 p.m. for a smoke break. However, by 3:30 p.m., when it was time to turn the lights on for the night, they had vanished.
“I just can’t believe it,” he said. “With all the customers coming and going – and we probably had 20 to 30 people in the store during that time – you’d think someone would have seen something.”
Once Drew realized the lights were gone, he called the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office and filed a report. He is also hoping some publicity will stir passersby’s memories.
“This happened in broad daylight, so I’m hoping maybe someone saw it happen,” Drew said. “Someone who thought they were watching an employee rearranging the display.”
Drew, who also called around to see if other businesses lost their lights and to notify those who didn’t to be on the lookout, wants residents to be aware there’s a Christmas light bandit in town.
“I just want others to be on the lookout,” he said.
Best-case scenario for Drew, who’s still holding out hope the Grinch has a Christmastime epiphany and returns his expensive lights, is that the perpetrator is someone pretty desperate to grasp a bit of Cricket’s Corner’s Christmas spirit.
“I’m hoping it’s some young father with kids at home who wanted lights for the tree,” Drew said. “That’s what I would love.”
Don Drew, owner of Cricket’s Corner gift shop in Raymond, is
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