The Inter-faith Thrift Shop continues to improve. The changes are now in place and the store is fantastic. It was great before but there seems to be more room with the new arrangement, cabinets, shelving, dressing rooms, etc. All this affords us a neater shopping area. The shop is an awesome sight to see and we hope you’ll all stop by and see the changes that have been made.
Monday, the articles donated by Fetzer’s Fine Jewelry were moved to the store. It began to give me a new idea how nice it would look when the cabinets were all in place. We are so pleased with the jewelry case donated by Fetzer’s Fine Jewelry.
Thanks to Gary Sroufe, John Jones and George Mox, as they moved the cases from  the  jewelry  store  to the thrift shop and set them up.
Five Jefferson students also helped with the moving and setting up. Many thanks to Grant Brand and Bubba Shivley for their services.
Thanks to Linda Mox and Louise Sroufe for arranging the new boutique area.
Thanks also to Fetzer’s Fine Jewelry for the generous donation.
Jabees Jewelers made available to us a case and clothes  rack  at  an  affordable  price  for   the   boutique   also   and   we   are  very thankful to them for this gesture of goodwill to the store.
It was my privilege and pleasure to speak with Bob Brickner, an avid reader and volunteer at the thrift shop, to learn about what he does as a volunteer.
He told me he was a friend of George Bohnlein and was interested in the way he worked with the toys at the Thrift Shop and thought he might like to do that some time. He said it didn’t happen right away.
Mary Thitoff asked him one day why he didn’t come in and help, so he did just that in September a couple of years ago and enjoyed working with the toys and housewares, repairing and doing repairs on items for sale. He enjoys the men and women who work as volunteers. They are all good people was his comment.
His father died when Bob was 18 and he helped his mother provide for the family. He worked at Gramm Trailer and then for 37 years at Fruehauf. He retired from there. He has had health problems for some time now and Bob says he is at the thrift shop every day that he or his wife doesn’t have doctors appointments. In July, he will be 80 years old and he enjoys volunteering because it takes his mind off the health problems he has and he feels he is needed to help with those toys and household items. Bob says it is hard to imagine where all the merchandise comes from. It just continues to come in.
He continues to encourage others to volunteer their time, telling them how much he enjoys the service he gives to such a worthy cause.
“I am honored and humbled by this interview,” Bob said.
This interview was a pleasure and a new experience for me. Thanks to you, Bob, for your patience with me and my questions.
Let us all remember Bob on Monday when he is scheduled to have a pacemaker and defibrillator put in to help with his heart and breathing. We wish him a speedy recovery.
Last weekend there were many favorable comments made about the new look in our store. To repeat a few: the fact that there seems to be more room and everything displayed so nice and easy to find what you are looking for. This isn’t like other thrift stores, it is more like a regular store and it makes us feel good to come here to shop.
A visitor from out of state said her family had worked here  with  Marie  Dorman years ago and what a surprise to see how different the store is now.
The many hours of extra work done by the volunteers in each department to make the changes possible is difficult to imagine. They must all be tired but they seem happy with the results.
The call for help for the needy seems to be growing. More people not working and unable to meet their bills and feed their families. The food shelves have been hit harder so any donations you can make will be greatly appreciated.
When we reflect back on this project’s beginning, we realize where we are today then we know this is truly an adventure in progress.
Thanks to all who buy, donate, and help in any way. May God bless each one for their faithful service.