LIMESTONE, Maine — As Grammie’s Treasures owner Patsy Poitras was filling a birthday balloon order, a mob was slowly creeping up on her shop.
Wielding pocketbooks, hugs, and bringing the store’s proprietor flowers, they descended on the small Limestone shop for about an hour, only relenting with their purchases about 15 minutes before the shop reached its normal noon closing time for Saturdays.
Grammie’s Treasures had officially been cash mobbed by what might very well be the most pleasant, jovial mob that has ever assembled.
“I was blowing up [an order for birthday balloons] and all of a sudden I kept hearing more people talking, and I looked, and it was like there was a mob in here, but I had no idea!” Poitras said with a smile after being mobbed by supportive patrons on Saturday.
Cash mob organizer Marilyn King, a retired town librarian and a current selectperson, estimated that over 50 people turned out to support the local businesses. As it was the first mob King had ever coordinated, she joked that she did a lot of praying — but King, Poitras and participants agreed that the organized effort yielded a very positive experience.
Limestone resident Leona Michaud, for instance, said it was her first time being part of a mob, “and I think it’s wonderful,” she said.
“It’s a wonderful chance to see people that you haven’t seen for a long time, and I think it’s wonderful for people to give businesses an opportunity to grow — especially in a small town of Limestone where we only have a few businesses,” Michaud added. “I think once people come and they’re satisfied with their gifts, hopefully they’ll come back.”
While many of the cash-mobsters stated that they frequently shopped at “Patsy’s” — a moniker Grammie’s Treasures picked up as its owner is well known around town — Poitras said that there were also a lot of new faces at the store, “Which was nice to see,” she said. “It was great! I’d like to see this happen every day.”
King said that she was inspired to organize a cash mob after reading an article in the Bangor Daily News titled “Cash mobs descend on Maine shops” back in December and thought it would be really nice to do something like that around town.
The idea came up again just last Tuesday while King attended her book club, and the group agreed that it was a great idea. King put calls in to one of the local sororities, the Chamber of Commerce (which was tricky, because Poitras is a chamber member), and other individuals in hopes of a 20 or 30 person turnout. Instead, nearly double that number participated in the supportive mob and exceeded King’s expectations for the event.
“I started making different calls to different people of all walks of life, and it all came together,” King said. “Limestone is community-oriented, for the most part, and they love to get together; it doesn’t matter if it’s a church supper or a wedding or another event — like a cash mob.”
Even with the cash mob adding extra fun to shopping, Limestone resident Fritzie Thompson expressed that there are many reasons she enjoys shopping at Grammie’s Treasures.
“It’s in Limestone and I don’t have to travel out of town to shop if I want to pick up a gift or some wrappings, and it’s pleasant to come in — Patsy’s fun to be with and I just enjoy it,” Thompson said.
Though Poitras was initially surprised by the organized support, she wasn’t surprised that it was spearheaded by King.
“That would be something Marilyn would do,” she said.
Grammie’s Treasure is open Tuesday through Friday from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m., and on Saturdays from 9 a.m. until noon; additional information about the Limestone shop can be found on the Grammie’s Treasures Facebook page.
