A Peterborough native has returned home to educate the community about life in town during the 1950s and 1960s.
On Tuesday, Aug. 9, Jim Smith, 73, took the stage at the Union Congregational Church to reminisce about what he called the small-town atmosphere and friendly culture of Peterborough during the mid-20th century. Smith, who started his lecture series in town seven years ago, said Peterborough’s population was approximately 3,500 people in the 1960s compared to over 6,000 now.
As the youngest of eight children and son of two blue-collar parents, Smith said he knew the value of hard work at a young age. From 1965 to 1967, he worked at Dyer’s Drugs on Grove Street while he was a student at Peterborough High School, serving customers a variety of household goods for 90 cents an hour.
Smith said his humble beginnings were the start to his successful career in social work.
“I learned more from that job than anything else in my career. I learned that if you take care of customers first, the money will come,” stated Smith.
After graduating high school in 1967, Smith attended Defiance University in Ohio to pursue a degree in social work. Smith began his career as a psychology social work specialist in the Army from 1971 to 1973. Since then, Smith has dedicated more than 40 years of his life to helping individuals and their families rebuild positive relationships and tackle the mental health crisis in America.
In 2007, Smith earned the Jefferson Award in for his philanthropic efforts in social work. He was also inducted in the Ohio Senior Citizen Hall of Fame for raising $230,000 for Diabetes Youth Services in Toledo, Ohio where he resided for 40 years.
Fifty-one years after leaving Peterborough, Smith said his homecoming experience was surreal.
“It’s the best I have felt in 20 years,” said Smith. “It brought back old memories. The bonds established in Peterborough were unbelievable.”
Smith said his mission is to donate tapes of his historical lectures to the Monadnock Center for History & Culture for people to look back on.
“I want to give back to a community that gave to me,” said Smith. “I credit Peterborough for my success.”
Smith is now retired and currently resides in Sun City Center, Fla., nearly 1,400 miles away from his hometown of Peterborough. Despite the long distance, Smith said his roots will forever remain in the community.
“If you forget where you come from, how do you expect to get anywhere?” he said.