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All that was left behind was a handwritten sign that read, “Homemade Lemon Cranberry Scotch.”
10-year-old David had set up a bakery table outside his house on August 27. Back in the day, he was selling lemon-cranberry skis — his sister’s specialty. These siblings have been running a small bakery business called The Hove Delights for about a month.
On weekends, they worked the stand for a few hours a day. His 15-year-old sister, Kimberly, does the baking and cooking while David meets with the customers. Their aim was to make money. David dreamed of owning an Xbox, and Kimberly wanted a new cell phone. They split the profits.
So far their position has been successful. Depending on the size of the desert, they sold sweet treats like cinnamon rolls, donuts, oatmeal cookies and scones for $2 to $3.50. Kimberly used her mother’s recipe for lemon-cranberry scones, which quickly became a best-seller.
They sold a lot of baked goods and heard a lot of kind words from customers and neighbors, the sisters said.
“I felt really happy,” David said of the business. He took great pride in running his independent stand, “I like interacting with other people,” he said.
But his joy turned to disbelief on Saturday afternoon when he returned from the bathroom and found his stand had slipped. A sixth grader was crushed.
“I felt sad. I thought it was my fault that I wasn’t waiting,” said David, who was glad to get the cash box and the leftovers inside.
His sister also gave up hope.
Kimberly said her parents had received it as a gift from a cousin, “so it was disappointing because we’ve had this table for a long time and it had sentimental value.”
Although their profits were safe, everything was gone, a reusable water bottle and a paper towel on the table. The theft was captured on a security camera outside the Hove family home. The footage shows a man standing in a white SUV backing up the car to the siblings’ stand. There appears to be a child in the back seat of the vehicle.
The siblings’ father, David Hove, said he was surprised that a man would steal his son’s baked goods. “I was very upset. It’s like a punch in the gut,” he said. “How could someone do this to children?”
“David was devastated and devastated and so was Kimberly,” Hov continued, adding that he felt David was to blame for the ordeal. “They were both very low.”
He asked his neighbors if anyone knew who the thief was. He considered calling the police, but decided against it.
“I thought the police were dealing with a lot of other things,” said Hove, who was surprised by the theft because his family lives in a low-crime neighborhood.
Still, he didn’t want to ignore the incident. He decided to share the video with the local news, hoping that maybe the thief would return the items and maybe apologize to the children.
Although the perpetrator never came forward, as the story spread, a steady stream of support poured in. Within days, the Hove siblings received hundreds of encouraging messages from strangers. Police officers also stopped to show their support and reinforced that David was not responsible for the theft.
“I’m very lucky to be in a community where other people care about everyone,” said the younger David.
“People went out of their way to help us and help us,” his sister said.
David Ritchie and his wife, Elizabeth Aiello, live in the same neighborhood as the Hove family, and stopped by the same spot to pick up treats several times last month. They especially liked cones.
“I’m not going to lie when I tell you this: they’re incredible,” says Ritchie, 48.
The couple appreciated David’s ambition beyond bad love and wanted to support his entrepreneurial endeavours.
“I thought it was amazing that he was trying to reach his goals,” Ricci said. “I got this kid.”
When he heard that David’s stand had been stolen, he and his wife went to a hardware store, bought a table and a refrigerator, and dropped them off at the Hoves’ house.
David and Kimberly are excited and ready to go back to work.
“It felt great,” said Kimberly, who began baking more skis.
“The kids were grateful to get back to business so quickly,” her father said. “I’m very proud.”
Tim Byrne — who lives 55 miles north of Toronto in Barrie — also saw the story and wanted to contribute. David found out he was working towards a new Xbox so he decided to provide one.
“I’ve been an entrepreneurial kid my whole life,” said Byrne, 54, who spent his childhood mowing lawns and doing other odd jobs for money. Fearing that the theft could put David out of business, he decides to go inside.
“I hope it motivates him to keep going,” Byrne said.
The brothers and sisters received dozens of offers to donate to their business, but they politely declined.
“We’ve been very clear about how we don’t need GoFundMe,” Kimberly said, adding that she can buy herself a new phone. “We want to work for the money.”
In the past week, Hove Delights has received about 70 order requests – including from fans in the United States – and the siblings are planning to expand their business to offer shipping options.
“People from all over the world want to help by buying scans,” said Kimberly, who started 10th grade on Wednesday. We are still trying to navigate. We need to make a plan.
But in the meantime, their father said the boys have learned valuable lessons.
“There are more good people in this world than bad,” Hove said. “That’s the real story.”
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