By BOB MARTIN
Eagle Times Staff
CLAREMONT, N.H. — In an act of paying it forward, former Claremont resident Baerbell Merrill has donated $5,000 to the city to help those in need during a difficult time, as the Claremont Police Department did for her and her and her family decades ago.
“This is the second time I’ve been here to humbly request the acceptance of this donation,” Police Chief Brent Wilmot said at the most recent city council meeting. “Once again Ms. Merrill donated $5,000 to the city at the end of 2024. Prior to coming here tonight I did author a letter to her, imploring her to reach out so I could get her story and communicate that to you.”
Wilmot explained that back in the 1960s, Merrill called the police to report that her husband had left and not returned home. When officers arrived there, they found her and three small children in need of assistance that the police would not normally provide. The police brought them to the store for groceries and other household products to ease some of the discomfort and pain the family was going through at the time.
She went on to get a nursing degree, left the city, and became very successful, but she never forgot what the police did for her family. Every year she sends a donation to be added to an established fund, and Wilmot said as recently as last week the funds have helped people in the community.
“In the last week we’ve actually had two incidents where we had officers and staff identify residents in this community who could use a hand, and have leveraged some of this money,” Wilmot told the city council. “One was to purchase groceries, and the second one was to help a family experience the death of a family member. We are looking for creative ways to pay it forward with Ms. Carroll’s benevolence.”
The Claremont City Council accepted the donation with a unanimous vote.
