WESTON – A small group of loyal customers gathered in Weston Saturday morning to thank a pharmacist who is relocating as Walgreens closes the location where he served the community for almost three decades.

The celebration was led by an 11-year-old boy who shocked the pharmacist by presenting him with thousands of dollars that he raised as a thank you gift.

Weston Walgreens closing

In the midst of corporate cutbacks at Walgreens, the location on Boston Post Road is closing permanently. So a small group came out to thank the pharmacist at the store.

“It’s humbling. I can’t believe it. It’s amazing,” said veteran pharmacist Bob Hesselberg, who has worked at the store for nearly 30 years. “I don’t want to retire, even though I am 75. I don’t want to retire. I’m not ready for it.”

Hesselberg is moving on to a store in Waltham. The sendoff was led by 11-year-old Aarav Khanna, whose school bus routinely drops him off right across from the Walgreens location.

“I’ve seen the amount of kindness and hard work he puts into his job,” Khanna said.

Money raised for pharmacist 

Khanna got the idea to raise money for Hesselberg as a going away present. And the total grew quickly. Thanks to the community, Kanna was able to present Hesselberg with a check for $6,000 on Saturday, leaving the pharmacist in shock.

During the Saturday celebration, a young girl gave a handmade card to Hesselberg, who people in the community call “Pharmacist Bob.”

“You walk in, he not only greets you by name, but he wants to know how your family is, and how is that medication you had last time, and how are you doing? And he means it,” customer Carol Ott said.  

The Weston Walgreens closes in the middle of November. Hesselberg hopes some customers will follow him to Waltham, but he worries about some of the older residents driving that distance, especially since the chain won’t be doing home delivery anymore.

“I’m gonna miss everybody. And I’m very grateful for all of this. And thank you so much,” Hesselberg told the crowd.

Vice President Kamala Harris is back in Philadelphia Sunday as the countdown to election day nears one week.

Harris, who spent several days in the Delaware Valley over the past week, spoke at the Church of Christian Compassion in Philadelphia on Sunday morning and will hold a campaign rally in the city later in the night. 

“In just nine days we have the power to decide the fate of our nation for generations to come,” she told the congregation.

Several minutes into her speech, some shouting broke out in the crowd. Harris paused during the disruption. “That’s why we fight for our democracy. Every voice is important,” she said while the outburst was quieted.

Harris went on to encourage the Philadelphia church to lean on faith in the days leading up to the election, and urged worshippers to use their feet to get to the polls.

“Here in Pennsylvania, right now each of us has an opportunity to make a difference. Because in this moment we do face a real question. What kind of country to we we want to live in,” she said. “The great thing about living in a democracy is we the people have the choice to answer that question. So let us answer not just with our words, but with our works.”

On Wednesday, Oct. 23, Harris visited the Famous 4th Street Deli in Philadelphia’s Queen Village neighborhood before attending a town hall in Delaware County. Earlier in the week, the vice president sat down with former Congresswoman Liz Cheney in Chester County in the first of three moderated conversations in battleground states.

During that conversation, Harris appealed to Republican voters who are on the fence about voting for former President Donald Trump, and claimed he used the presidency as a way to “demean and to divide” Americans.

“I think people are exhausted with that, rightly,” Harris said. “And it does not lead to the strength of our nation to tell American people that we must be suspicious of one another, distrust one another.”

On Monday, Harris will harness the star power of some of her biggest supporters during a benefit concert at Temple University’s Liacouras Center, according to multiple sources.

Twenty-time Grammy winner Bruce Springsteen will headline a concert and a rally with former President Barack Obama as part of the Harris campaign’s effort to mobilize voters in the final weeks of the 2024 presidential election.

Speaking to CBS News Philadelphia’s Joe Holden, Harris said she’s “honored” to have Obama’s support on the campaign trail. “And people like Bruce Springsteen, to have their support, and of course he is an American icon, I think it just shows the breadth and depth of the support that we have,” Harris said.

When asked if any other big name supporters are planning to turn out for the event Monday, Harris said with a laugh, “I have nothing to report at this moment. Stay tuned, however.”

Earlier this month, Springsteen endorsed Harris and her running mate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.