By Michel Outridge

ROXANNE Archer-Smith is probably one of the most straightforward persons you will ever meet, but she is also comfortable to be around and when you visit her shop, one gets the homey feeling of being at your home away from home.

The 64-year-old told the Pepperpot Magazine that she is ageing but still has some fire left in her, and she wants to do so much more before her chapter closes.

She is a shining light in Circuitville, Soesdyke/Linden Highway and is among the first settlers in this community.

Archer-Smith is also one of the eldest residents in the village and she is well-known for a lot of good reasons, including her home-cooked foods and warm personality which draws people to her place, Roxanne’s Quality Corner, on Circuit Road.

The mother of one stated that she has been a resident of Circuitville for more than 20 years and is a city girl.

She recalled back then, her first husband had a snackette in the village and since she was a good cook, he asked her to go along with him to work.

She cooked and he sold the pastries and foods and life was going good for many years until they parted ways.

The couple had a nice location at their shop, road front, by the highway in Circuitville and it was not populated back then but was an industrial site, where workers supported the small business.

The businesswoman related that she constructed her own small house and opened a shop and began living and selling there, a place she loves and would spend the rest of her life there since she likes the tranquillity and peace.

Archer-Smith noted that the place had a lot of thick trees and bushes and she cleared the spot she is living on and began her new life there, and has never regretted that move, not for once, since she doesn’t like crowds.

“I used to exercise and walk this road daily and I saw this place and fell in love and said in my mind, I will soon live here and that became a reality and for that, I am happy and contented,” she said.

At Roxanne’s Quality Corner, she would prepare at least one meal for the day to go with pastries, cold beverages and packaged snacks.

Her little shop has small and decorated tables and chairs to make one’s stay quite comfortable and cosy.

Archer-Smith disclosed that back in the days when she was younger she used to make fresh oven-baked bread and pastries daily and people used to line up and wait for those, but these days she would buy pastries to sell.

It was after some time, Archer-Smith remarried an 84-year-old gentleman, Cedrick Smith from Linden, he used to have a shop but closed it after he advanced in age and is retired.

She would make the journey from time to time and he would likewise and the couple seem to be doing just fine, in their living arrangement.

Archer-Smith stated that for St. Valentine’s Day she made a special takeaway lunch, and the venture was supported by villagers and people from as far as Linden.

She decorated the tables with red tablecloths and white napkins adorned the edges of the tables, creating a unique design in itself.

Her little shop is a good place to have a cold drink and snack, a place weary travellers passing through would visit.

Archer-Smith reported that she would hardly leave home because vans, buses and canter trucks would visit daily to bring produce, goods and other things to sell and she would purchase for her home and shop.

Meats would be sourced from the nearby village, Yarrowkabra, which has a lot of poultry farms and fruits and vegetable farms, as well.

“In this village, almost everything comes to your door selling, so you don’t really have to go anywhere to shop and it is quite convenient for me,” she said.

Archer-Smith stated that despite being a city girl, she is used to living in the countryside and it is the best thing that has happened to her. She is at peace in a good place to live despite the challenges that come with a hillside village.