Donna Piselli Murray grew up with 10 sisters and two brothers. What better training for a successful career in retail! Donna is the oldest in the family and all her sisters and brothers are still living, mostly in Maine. The family lived in Auburn and Augusta through much of Donna's childhood. Her father was a chef, well known in the Augusta area for preparing great food. He also was well known for his ice sculptures!

In her early years, right out of high school, Donna worked as a CNA at the state hospital in Augusta. Another training ground for human interaction of a different type. Donna learned how to be with people at an early age.

In 1983 Donna and her husband Coneth Murray moved to Southport. Coneth had grown up on the coast and he was anxious to return. He fished out of Robinson’s. Shawn, their son, is a lobster fisherman, and he also keeps his boat at Robinson’s. In 1989 Donna started a job at The Hutch and she has been there ever since. Ed Hutchins, then-owner of The Hutch. was a good friend of mine. He helped us launch our postcard business adding significant orders every year. I always ran our proposed postcard views by Ed. He had a really good sense of business and what might be subjects popular with visiting shoppers.

Ed and his wife Ruby started their businesses in Boothbay Harbor at the  Red Dragon gift shop on the By-way, across the street from the bowling alley where The Bistro restaurant is now. The original building has been expanded but old postcards show remains of the original building. Donna did not work at the Red Dragon but she started at The Hutch when her job at Pine Tree Variety ended.

The Hutchinses no longer own The Hutch. Sheri Manzi, who worked with Donna and Ed and others, is the new owner. Ed and Howie, Ed's son, were very pleased for the transition to new ownership. They had known and worked with Sheri for years. It was a good fit and Donna remained a vital part of the operation, along with Linda Pinkham.

A funny aside: Back in the day, when P&P Pastry Shoppe was in high clover, a gang of locals – Bill Harris, Teaver Farnham, Lee Hartford, Sue Bear, Mary Connolly, her husband Coleman, and others decided to create a pool intending to predict the date our daughter Morgan would be born. Donna put her dollar on New Year's Eve. And New Year's Eve 1990 it was! A bit complicated by Morgan's jump start, a smooth arrival resulted.

Donna's retail skill is unparalleled. Predicting births is a sideline. Greeting the public and helping them shop remains her strong suit. Generations of visitors have shopped at The Hutch, and many people, when returning to Boothbay Harbor, stop by to say hi. She is a bit of an institution and a very nice young lady.