Time marches on

When Barbara Yona Soifer was just 10 years old, her father asked her dismantle a watch into its various components. After completing the task with precision, she was given the honor of naming the family's small new watch and jewelry shop-The Little Swiss House-originally a 1950s Scollay Square establishment.

But when the Boston Redevelopment Authority forced businesses out of Scollay Square in favor of the new Government Center, the Soifers upped and moved their shop (and home) to Brookline, where it has remained ever since. Following her parents' deaths in 1976, the youngest Soifer ultimately assumed ownership.

After immigrating to Boston from Antwerp, Belgium, when Soifer was 5 years old, Soifer's parents, Holocaust survivors, opened it to use the skill that her father's family had honed for generations.

Soifer keeps the family legacy alive with the business and adds her own special touch with the creation of the supplemental service, Yona Jewelry Design Gallery, which creates and recreates pieces of jewelry with either original designs or structures.

"This is the end of the line," Soifer says defiantly, having no children to take over her life's work.

If her shop goes, it won't be the town's only loss. Soifer is active in a wide variety of Brookline causes and often is talked about as the town's most enthusiastic booster.

But she also notes the negatives. She is always conscious of the high rents and taxes that she says "cripple" Brookline's mom-and-pop shops, and laments the corporate chains that take over storefront after storefront in the neighborhood.

"The Paper Source in Coolidge Corner used to be four or five separate stores," she says. "Now that The Pear Tree is going under, they are taking up that space as well."

So it's no surprise that Soifer is glad to pitch in-her efforts include work with the Chamber of Commerce, Washington Square Merchants' Association and Brookline Access Television (where she hosts the program, "Hidden Talents"), Chamber of Commerce's Business Areas Committee and the Boston Children's Theater. She is also responsible for Brookline's First Light Festival, the annual Washington Square Fair and the 18-foot Victorian clock which graces the square's T stop.

But in spite of her many activities and contributions to the town, Soifer continues to reflect on her roots, and is always grateful that her father's business is still intact and remains a staple in the community.

"When an old customer comes back-sometimes I don't see them for years-it's like seeing an old friend; it's nice to know they remembered you and your work."

While most customers are not currently in the market for new and expensive pieces of jewelry, many will come in to have an old piece repaired or redesigned.

Soifer acknowledges the simple truth: Yona Design Gallery was a necessary addition to the old shop. It offers customers a touch of the contemporary to compliment the classic.

DEBRA FILCMAN