On June 4, the North End Family Store on Oamaru’s Thames Highway will close its doors for good, much to the disappointment of Sandra van Hafften.
Ms van Hafften, who lives a minute’s walk away, has spent a lot of time at the store.
Aside from going out with Age Concern, the 73-year-old, who lives alone, only visited Oamaru’s town centre once a month, via taxi.
Her visits to the Salvation Army gave her an opportunity to get out of the house and chat with the staff, she said.
From wax figurines to trinkets and soft toys, she had collected 575 bears — most of them from the North End store.
She had collected them ever since her late husband surprised her with a mauve teddy bear.
Every time she found a bear, it gave her a lift and made her happy.
They were her pride and joy and no two bears were the same.
"I treasure my bears," she said.
"When the ladies told me about it [closing], I came home, sat on my chair and cried.
"I don’t really have any options."
She said they would not tell her where they were going, which made it worse.
Salvation Army Oamaru Corps captain Rachel Montgomery said the store was closing because its building lease was ending.
When asked what this meant for staff and volunteers and whether the store would reopen in a new location, Ms Montgomery said it was consulting its staff and volunteers as it navigated the best way to serve the community.
A closing down sale would start on May 31 and the last trading day would be on June 4.
The second Oamaru Family Store, at 255 Thames St, would remain open.
