David and Joyce Bourque believe in Santa Claus. But this year their Santa came in a box truck, with a big orange logo.
The Bourques, of 2 Donmac Drive, received a surprise gift this week from the Londonderry Home Depot when the giant hardware chain learned of serial vandalism being done to the inflatable holiday decorations on the Bourques’ lawn. Home Depot promptly delivered eight boxes of holly-jolly outdoor decorations to the homeowners.
The Bourques have had their outdoor decorations vandalized twice this year. The first time was on Nov. 14, in the wee hours of the morning. A perpetrator ran through the yard and made knife cuts in Disney figures, a Santa and a 10-foot snowman, Joyce Bourque said. The security video camera presented only a vague idea of what happened.
Joyce Bourque repaired the figures with duct tape, while David Bourque bought a better camera. The Axis P1353-E has superb Night Vision capabilities, he wrote in an e-mail.
The second video, of damage this past week, was clearer and showed a figure running through the yard and a getaway car following slowly on the street. The quality of the video is so good David Bourque can show it on his phone, and so good that they were interviewed by TV stations in Boston and Manchester.
But most important, it shows a clearer picture of who was in their yard and what went on. The perpetrator has been identified as a teenage girl, age 16 or 17. She was wearing Ugg boots and leggings and a Pinkerton hat. She is about 6 feet tall, and the video even identified her as left-handed. The car has been identified as a black four-door sedan, David Bourque said.
The video has been forwarded to the Derry Police Department, according to the Bourques. Derry Police Capt. Vern Thomas said the incident was under investigation.
Perhaps because Joyce was able to repair the first damage, the second attack was harsher, cutting deeply into the thin vinyl of the blow-up decorations. They could not be salvaged, the Bourques said.
But they could be replaced. When management at Londonderry Home Depot saw a Channel 9 account of the vandalism, they went into action. On Thursday morning, Dec. 19, a knock brought the Bourques to the door at 7 a.m., to find eight boxes of decorations. Some are inflatable, some of the “fixed” variety, David Bourque said.
The new figures include Frosty, two Santas, a penguin, a Teddy bear, Mickey and Minnie Mouse, and a dachshund.
He added, “But first we have to dig out the old ones.”
While neighbors turn off their inflatables at night, the Bourques leave theirs on, David Bourque said. He theorized that this was why his family was hit the vandalism occurred both times at 2 a.m.
He’s especially happy to get another Frosty, noting that he put up the first Frosty in order to show solidarity with his neighbors. Bourque lives in the area of town that recently fought off a proposal to put a Dumpster Depot on Ashleigh Drive. He put up the Frosty after being inspired by a holiday movie, “Christmas With the Kranks.”
And for this year at least, the Bourques’ Santa will wear orange.
Those with information about the vandalism are asked to call Derry Police at 432-6111.
