Thrift shop honors longtime volunteer

Submitted photo

Longtime resident Shirley Brown receives a surprise when the woman's shopping area at the Plainville Thrift Shop was renamed "Shirley's Shoppe."

A Plainville woman got one of the biggest surprises of her 93 years when she stopped by the thrift shop where she has volunteered for several decades. The Plainville Thrift Shop, located at 130 W. Main St., had been closed for its usual two-week summer hiatus during which it was rejuvenated.

One day before the Aug. 19 reopening, Shirley Brown and some friends decided to go downstairs to the thrift shop located in the basement of the Congregational Church of Plainville, United Church of Christ. Brown, who is the shop's manager, never expected to be greeted by a crowd of friends, fellow volunteers and well-wishers who were there to surprise her.

She found that the women's clothing room had been repainted, rearranged and restocked. But before she entered the room, she had to cut the huge yellow ribbon draped across the doorway and admire the new sign that hung overhead: "Shirley's Shoppe." The area had been renamed in her honor.

"I was so thrilled," Brown said. Afterward the group had refreshments. Her son and daughter, who live out of state and knew about the honor, sent congratulatory flowers.

The sign for the women's shopping area, paint, hardware, labor and associated costs were donated in recognition of Brown's commitment to the shop and in support of the important role the thrift shop plays in the community, church officials said. A total of 34 people were involved with the project.

The Plainville Thrift Shop opened in 1970, and has served Plainville and its surrounding towns since that time. Originally contained in one large room in the basement of the Congregational Church of Plainville, the room that is now dubbed Shirley's Shoppe was annexed within a year or two after the opening of the thrift shop. This effort is the first complete renovation of that space since its opening, church officials said.

The funds raised through the sale of items are used to support the operation, and church missions and programs. The thrift shop pledges $13,000 annually, Brown said. "We do other things such as work with the food pantry," Brown said. When the clothes are switched for the season, the thrift shop donates summer clothes to a mission in Zimbabwe, with which a former church member is affiliated.

Brown, who was born in Massachusetts, has lived in Plainville several times, first in 1948. She says she loves working at the shop, where she volunteers between 10 and 20 hours each week marking prices on the items and helping customers. "We have a wonderful crew; it takes a lot of dedication," she said. "I love going there. The people are nice," and she enjoys the conversation and camaraderie.

Brown said she "got my love for people" when she served as a nurse with the U.S. Navy during World War II. In the two-plus years that she served she was stationed in Chelsea, Mass., Portsmouth, Va., in Washington state and Hawaii.

Brown said she has no plans to retire. "I'm going to stay there as long as I can. It's a wonderful thing to help people."

The thrift shop's regular hours are Wednesdays and Thursdays 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Saturdays 9:30 a.m. to noon.

On Sept. 6, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., at the church, there will be a mum, bake. book and women's clothing sale, many items brand new still with the tags, and ranging in size from 2 to 22.

For more information, call the church office at (86) 747-1901 or visit the Web site www.uccplainville.org.