Glenboro Thrift Store prepares to close their doors at the end of September
For the past four years, a small thrift store in the community has been about much more than second-hand treasures.
It has been about people.
People who have volunteered their time, people who helped get the store up and running, people who shared posts on social media, young people gaining valuable experience and learning new skills and, most importantly, people who believe in helping their neighbors.
As Lorne Pick and his wife Elaine Miller, prepare to close the doors at the end of September, he says one of the things that will stay with him is the number of people who have helped along the way.
“When we moved here, Mayor Radford, helped us move in,” recalls Lorne. “The pastor from the church helped out too, there have been so many people who have helped out since the beginning, I can’t even remember all their names.”
The store began with a little help from a lot of people and it continued throughout the four years.
“Mike and Travis Johnson from the Gazette gave the business an opportunity to get started in its original location, allowing a couple of months for us to try it out and see if it caught on,” he recalled.
For the first few months the thrift store operated out of the former Gazette office, until Dave and Ardith Springer, owner of the present location, were supportive of the venture and offered the building on a rent to own basis.
But, it really isn’t only the people connected to the buildings who helped.
There were those who helped promote the business through social media posts on the Glenboro Thrift Store page, highlighting sales and showcasing new items.
Some of the volunteers were surprisingly young.
Over the years, the store has provided an opportunity for local youth to learn about volunteering and responsibility.
Lorne remembers one volunteer in particular who got involved at thirteen years of age. “She could have literally run this place,” he said proudly.
Today he has two more young volunteers, Kaylee Koop, 11 and Isana McLeod (Izzy), 12, who have become important parts of the store’s day to day operations.
“They have learned a lot more than how to dust off and straighten out shelves. They have learned how to operate the cash register and price articles.”
It is a lesson in community service that goes well beyond the walls of the store.
For Lorne and Elaine, the store was never simply about selling donated items. No one was paid for their time. The initial idea was to donate any profit to the local cat shelter, however as profits were minimal a donation jar was placed on the counter instead.
Looking back, Lorne compares the experience to raising a child.
“You can’t do it without a lot of good people,” he said.
That may be the best description of the little thrift store’s journey.
It took a community to get it started.
And it is that community spirit that makes the decision to close the doors particularly difficult.
After four years, however, Lorne says the store can no longer continue financially.
The first two years were successful, but the past two have been increasingly difficult. Sales have declined, while the cost of keeping the store operating, particularly heating the older building through our tough Manitoba winters, has continued to rise.
For the past year, Lorne has personally contributed $1,000 a month from his Old Age Security to keep the doors open.
“We figured we would try to hold on until this year,” Lorne said.
“We figured you can’t get two bad years in a row.”
Unfortunately, this year did not bring the improvement they were needing and hoped for.
As sales remained low and another winter approaching, the couple decided they could no longer justify the expense of keeping the doors open.
“We just can’t do another winter.”
The building itself has presented challenges. Lorne says that during the extreme cold last winter, they struggled to keep the store temperature at 12 degrees, while summer temps inside reached 27 degrees.
After four years of putting so much time and energy into the store, he and Elaine are ready to have some time together as well.
“My wife and I haven’t left town together or done anything else in four years,” he said.
The store will begin its final closing out sales on September 1, with the doors remaining open throughout the month.
Lorne plans to mark down much of the inventory in an effort to find new homes for as many items as possible.
Books, records, CDs, and cassettes will be just 50 cents each. Tops will be $1, baby clothes $1, and pants will be $2. Parkas, snowsuits and other outerwear will be $5 Jewelry including new rings in the display case will be marked down to $1.
Lorne hopes that as much merchandise as possible will find its way into the hands of people who can use it rather than having to haul it to the landfill.
“We hate to see anything going to the dump,” he said.
Although the store will soon be closing, Lorne has no plans of leaving the community.
They moved to the area before opening the thrift store and have grown to love the town and its people.
“We love this town and its’ people,” he said.
And maybe that is what Lorne will remember most when the doors close for the final time.
Not the shelves, the merchandise or the sales, but the people who showed up, volunteered, donated items, shared a Facebook post, helped a neighbour or simply stopped in to support the store.
