A handful of volunteers helped remove boards covering windows and entrances of businesses on Murfreesboro's Square. Dozens of shops boarded up and braced for chaos ahead of a White Lives Matter protest scheduled for Saturday afternoon.
White nationalists cancelled the rally at the last minute.
"To come here on a Friday night when there's usually hardly a place to park and see it shut down, that's what hurt," said Donald Lester, owner of L&L Contractors.
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Lester and several others spent multiple hours Sunday morning making sure businesses would be ready to open for customers first thing Monday morning.
"This is still our town," Lester said. "We had to protect it temporarily, but nothing's lost yet. We're still strong."'
Murfreesboro Loves has been encouraging people to shop small and support businesses on the square on November 4th to make up for the business lost because of the protest.
