Treasures at our Country Thrift Shop

 When the price of gas here in the mountains east of San Diego rose to almost $5.00 a gallon, most of us changed our driving habits drastically. The small grocery stores have benefited greatly from increased purchases by people who don't want to drive the 40 miles to Alpine, or 65 miles to El Cajon. All three stores in our little community are receptive to suggestions and now stock a wider variety of merchandise.

But there is a nowhere out here to buy a variety of clothes, dishes, linens, pots and pans, toys, knick knacks etc, except at our Homemakers Thrift Store. It is a non-profit organization founded back in the 1920s. It is not only a place to buy necessities cheaply, but also a source of help to people in need from all sorts of reasons. This an area where wildfires create havoc almost every year, burning people's homes and belongings, and the Homemakers have free household kits to get them supplied again. They also give $1,000 scholarships annually to the brightest and most ambitious graduating seniors from the Mountain Empire High School.

For years the Homemaker's had free rent for their thrift store when it was located in a big old barracks left from Camp Lockett days of WWII. But when a greedy investor bought up most of the property around Campo that had already been converted from government-owned to private ownership, he raised the rent astronomically, and they were forced to move into a much smaller building.

As small as it is I am always amazed at the quantities of good stuff they have neatly stacked and priced on shelves in that small room. The store is run entirely by volunteers and open from 10 AM until 2 PM two days a week on Thursdays and Saturdays.

Today I had to go to Campo on business and stopped to see what they had. I walked out with two huge bags of stuff. I bought a king-sized bedspread in a soft blue floral pattern for only $2.50. It will make two bedspreads for my narrow bed. I found a pretty little ruffled red pillow that will ease my aching butt in a hard chair I sometimes use. It was $1.00. I found a beautiful hand-quilted baby blanket for $1.00 that I bought just because it is so pretty and nicely done; and a tin flour container in a pretty village print for .75. But the best treasure I bought was a very large shiny metal cake dish for $3.00. It will double as a bread box or pie holder giving us assurance that no cats will be able to sample whatever they can find to eat on forbidden counters when Jane or I are not close by to squirt them with the water bottle kept for the purpose.

But you should see what I didn't buy. There was a stack of eight hand-painted trays, crystal bowls, lovely wineglasses, sets of pretty matching plates, and stemmed dessert dishes. I spotted a big box of patterns and odd lengths of pretty material Jane would love to look through for styles she could alter to suit herself. There were sheets, pillowcases and draperies. I bought a dark green floral patterned king-sized sheet because I think it would be suitable to make into a drapery for the east window when the weather gets hot. There were shelves of books, records and DVDs, racks of men's, women's and children's clothes - all labeled as to size and cost which was usually only a dollar or two. There are shoes, purses, sportswear, and I even saw a really beautiful brightly colored woven vest, I loved but couldn't think when I would ever wear it. Everything is clean, and all clothes have been laundered before being hung up for sale.

The fellow shoppers one meets at the Homemakers Thrift Shop are not necessarily folks down on their luck. Many are looking for rare treasures, or hard to find things that often turn up there. I think most of the merchandise is acquired somewhere other than locally, although local people donate regularly. I have some hardly worn clothes I must organize to give them. I bought them just before I suddenly started losing weight right after I joined Gather. I lost over 45 lbs. and I think it was all because I would forget to eat for hours and hours when I was writing articles for Gather.

It is fun just to go in to the Homemaker's Thrift Store just to see what new items they have, but even more enjoyable is visiting with the volunteers most of whom I have known since 1993. Whenever I go in they greet me like a long lost sister, and make me feel really welcome. I never joined them because for the seven years I lived in Campo I had a full-time volunteer job at the Gaskill Brothers Stone Store Museum, where I got a free hookup for my trailer in exchange for spending practically my whole time caring for the museum. I also took care of its grounds, and gradually worked my way into archive chores, inventory of all the artifacts in a data bank on the computer, and finally to publishing the quarterly 12-page periodical. That is when I discovered how much I enjoy writing.

Right after my husband died Jan 4, 2000, I had several little strokes that left me with some small disabilities that gradually disappeared. After the first episode I left the museum for a resort trailer park 10 miles to the east, and began to take life easier. There were aspects to the museum job that were quite strenuous and I had very little time for myself. When I felt well I enjoyed all my chores at the museum, especially being docent on weekends and telling wild stories to the visitors. But when my husband died, it no longer seemed easy to keep up with everything. I hated to leave. So now it is a special pleasure to return once in a while just to visit.

I've rambled long enough. I'm going to post this and go to sleep under my new pretty blue bedspread surrounded by at least three fluffy cats and my two dogs on the floor beside me. Good night!