Old favorites mingle with new treasures at The Pilgrim
When the original owners of The Pilgrim in Westwood Shopping Center decided to close their gift shop after 35 years, Joan Poole couldn’t believe it.
Poole, who at the time ran the Red Cross in Moore County, had been a loyal customer since the early days of the Fayetteville shop, when sisters Carolyn Naylor and Doris McPhail-Williams ran it on Fort Bragg Road.
Poole got a letter from The Pilgrim telling customers that the store was closing when the owners retired.
“It was 4 o’clock when I got the letter,” Poole said. She called McPhail-Williams, who was her friend, and expressed shock that the shop was closing. McPhail-Williams paused, then asked if she would be interested in the store. Poole said yes.
“By 5 o’clock, I was in the store talking to them,” Poole said.
Poole had just sold her house in Pinehurst, and an offer she had made on another home had fallen through. “It was meant to be,” Naylor said.
The shop changed hands in February 2006. Poole took over in June, when she left her position with the Red Cross, which she had held since 2001.
Naylor took a break for about six months. “Then I called Joan and asked if I could help out some,” Naylor said. “I just like to stay busy, and it is wonderful to see the people.”
