In Memoriam, The Salvation Army Tragedy

It was 10:45 on Wednesday morning at the corner of 22nd & Market St. in downtown Philadelphia when tragically and without warning, an adjoining building that was under demolition collapsed onto a Salvation Army Thrift Store. Employees and shoppers alike were trapped under the heaping rubble of what was once a bustling thrift store in Center City. 

Thanks to the heroism of first responders and well-to-do civilians who first witnessed the collapse, a total of 13 people were saved.

It is with a heavy heart that I must tell you that 6 people lost their lives in that Salvation Army. 

As a regular shopper of this Salvation Army Thrift store when I was in college, I'm deeply saddened by this event. 

So, with our shared passion for vintage, for bargains, for thrift stores and secondhand relics, let us gather together for a moment of silence for the following: 

Anne Bryan, a local student, artist and thrift shopper at the time of the accident.

Mary Simpson, a talented figure skater and close friend to Anne Bryan who was shopping at the time of the accident.

Kimberly Finnegan, A Roxborough Salvation Army employee who transferred to the downtown Salvation Army Thrift Store. Tragically, her passing was on her first day of the job at this location.

Borbor Davis, a loyal employee of The Salvation Army who never missed a day of work.

Roseline Corteh, an African immigrant who loved worked at The Salvation Army. 

Juanita Harmin, a treasure hunter who visited The Salvation Army every Wednesday looking for bargains.

Having visited this Salvation Army thrift store with my sister and friends many times in the past, I cannot believe how this tragedy came to be. It's with extreme gratitude for their services that I am proud to say that Philadelphia has no shortage of heroes...the everyday citizens who spring to action without weighing their own personal risk...the fire fighters digging for signs of life for over 24 hours....the police who guarded the area and aided in the search and rescue... the EMTs and hospital staff who cared for the injured...everyone involved in helping those affected. 

Still, this loss of life in the thrift community is truly a tragedy. I never stop to think that one moment I could be thumbing through a box of records at the thrift store, and the next I could be seriously hurt...or worse. And honestly, I'm not sure I'll step into a thrift store again without the thought of those poor people weighing on my heart and mind.

Go North, Young Thrifter.

How lovely!

After wallowing in sadness since the untimely loss of my dog, Penny, I thought the time had to come to post some upbeat business to the blog. My vacation, while punctuated with sickness and depression, was not a total loss. Like I mentioned in my last post, I was fortunate to spend some time with friends up the mountains during my paid leave from work. And in addition to taking photos and trying to scope out the local wildlife, I was also able to do some up-north thrifting. 

On our way to Arrowhead Lake, we happened upon a flea market on Sunday afternoon in Blakeslee, PA. Since it was after 1pm, many of the outdoor vendors were packed up for the day. But the indoor market was still open and packed with merchandise booths. It was a tad pricier than what I'm used to paying. But, what the heck! I figured, "Hey, I'm on vacation. I'm splurging." 

My splurge? 

Mint condition. Great for making loops and mixing. 

I love this series. I have another in the set that's mostly city noise and machinery. I can't wait to rip this onto my iTunes. SONAR? Sperm Whales? Sounds good to me. Since these were antique booth prices, I was surprised at my ability to passively "talk" a vendor down on the price. The record wasn't marked. When I greeted the cashier nearby and asked for a price, he gave it a once-over and said $7. I thanked him and began walking back to return the record to its spot. He then said..."How about $5?" That was a little better. Also, I scooped up this book.

Another quirky art book for my collection. $1 

Six dollars for a book and a record? Eh, not too bad. The next day, we ventured out to the long stretch of road that held all the shops, restaurants and entertainment that the mountains had to offer. Our first stop? 

Mountain thrifting! 

Goodwill seems to outnumber Salvation Army thrift stores in my area back home. So maybe I'm just not used to the arbitrary pricing of clothing at Salvation Army, when compared to the flat fee of the typical $3.50 per shirt from my local Goodwill. I didn't see much anyway....except for this adorable decorative scarf for my sister.

Talk about eye-catching. Vera Neumann silk scarf, $3. 

I paid for the scarf and we hit the road in search of more shopping. Our next stop was The Old Village Trader, a rather strange store with a large miscellany of souvenirs, novelties and secondhand wares. This family-owned business is a must-see for those in the Mount Pocono area. The staff were super friendly and there was just...a ton of stuff. 

Be sure to brave the descent to the basement. 

It's a little creepy. It has the musk of age. But they have a basement literally filled with vintage books. I didn't want to keep my friends waiting while I thumbed through thousands of pulp paperbacks. But I did gladly fork over the $2 for this...

Zombie bonus!

Halloween is right around the corner...

Imagine listening to some of this up the mountains...where there's nothing around for miles but complete darkness. Spooooky. 

Behold. The beauty of nature. 

Well, maybe this wasn't entirely natural. It doesn't take much to amuse me. I just...like tree faces. 

I guess the overall theme for these past few days is trying to adapt to a place without Penny. It's been hard. And I've felt especially guilty about being on vacation when she passed. I know she loved me. And I loved and cared for her. 

So even with the unpreventable loss of my puppy, which I deeply mourn, I tried to make the best of my time off from work. Friends, photography, thrifting. And now blogging about my experiences... It's all I can do for my days  to bare a semblance to normalcy. It's what Penny would have wanted. Well, all that...and a pillow fort with an endless supply of Twizzlers. 

Have you had a thrifty vacation? 

PS. Don't Forget to stop by Apron Thrift Girl for Thrift Share Monday!

Odds 'n' Ends Thursday: It's the Time of The Season

You know what season I'm talking 'bout. It's that lovely time of year when the wind blows crisp and clean, and the leaves change color. It's perfect for layering all of your cute thrifted fashion pieces and cozying up to a hot cup of coffee for a horror movie marathon. God, I love this time of year.

And I love, love, love going through my closet and subsequently making a new fashion thrift wish list for the changing temperatures. This season I am dying to find a poncho that doesn't make me look like a sack of potatoes...or some sort of a cat lady. I would also like some saddle shoes, colorful tights (which are not likely to be thrifted, but hopefully bought on discount), a few fashionable tunics to layer over leggings and anything else that'll blend together for a comfortable look that works with the cooler weather.

And this is exactly the reason that the "Odds 'n' Ends Thursday" post will actually be published in the wee Friday morning hours. I spent a considerable amount of time today hunting the Salvation Army and the clearance racks of a few of my favorite stores for looks I love. I did find a lovely black and white print dress which I plan to layer over leggings and top with a cute cardigan. And I got some cute costume jewelry from Forever 21...including a... wait for it... robot necklace. Pictures will follow shortly.

Back to the "Odds 'n' Ends Thursday" topic...I find it a bit odd that no one has officially entered the Let's Go Thrifting! My Memories Suite Giveaway. I'd really like someone creative and thrifty to win this software. Did you miss the initial announcement? No worries.

There are six ways to gain entries:

1. Visit the My Memories website and pick out your favorite Digital Scrapbooking Kit.  (1 Entry)
2. Become a fan of My Memories on Facebook.  (1 Entry)
3. Follow the My Memories Blog through Google Friend Connect. (1 Entry)
4. Tweet @LetsGoThrifting and @MyMemoriesSuite about your passion for scrapbooking. (1 Entry)
5. Post about the My Memories Suite Giveaway on your blog. ( 1 Entry)
6. Follow Let's Go Thrifting! through Google Friend Connect. (1 Entry)

Just follow these instructions and then comment on the original post letting me know which entries you've completed. Please use separate comments for each one so I can make sure all of your entries are counted toward the giveaway. Also be sure that your comments have your name and email so I can let you know if you're the lucky winner.

Be sure to read my rave review of the product and the official announcement of the My Memories Suite Giveaway for more details.

Best of luck, thrifters!

_________________________________________

What thrifted fall fashions are you looking for?

Being an Audiophile…For Cheap.

There’s much to be said about the abundance of knick-knacks, bric-a-brac and tchotchkes at the local thrift store, and of my growing personal collection of found oddities that could be described as such. But when it comes to thrifting for music, I never had much luck. Until this last year, that is.
In this special edition of Let’s Go Thrifting, I’ll share with all of you diehard thrifters the music I scored secondhand.

Now. Let me preface all of this by first describing my musical tastes. I enjoy many different artists in many different genres, so it’s hard to quite describe my preference. But…if we were to keep the story short it would sound something like… Hello. I’m Jackie and I like listening to girl-garage groups and Japanese pop from the 60’s, complaint indie-rock, DEVO and Lady Gaga.

So aside from finding the remnants of boy bands and one-hit wonders past, I’d never consider the average thrift store a viable option to expand my music library.


Good thing I was proven wrong!

The inventory so far:

On vinyl…

• Marlo Thomas and Friends Free to Be You and Me
• Nutty Numbers (a strange, strange assortment of songs from the renowned K-Tel collection)
• Big Brother and the Holding Company Cheap Thrills (Cheap, yes! Costing less than $1, in fact)
• DEVO Q:Are We Not Men? A: We are DEVO!
• DEVO Freedom of Choice

On CD…

• Belle & Sebastian The Boy with the Arab Strap.
• Sebadoh Bakesale
• Clap Your Hands Say Yeah (self-titled)
• School House Rock! Rocks (indie and educational!)
• Growing Up Too Fast: The Girl Group Anthology (2 discs of heartbreak and girl drama…and it’s great)
• The Go! Team Thunder, Lightning, Strike
• The Honorary Title Anything but the Truth

And…funny thing. That last title wasn’t particularly for me. I took a chance on the unknown… buying it simply for the cover art.



Yes. That’s a panda. And yes, it just devoured someone. But wait…There’s more! This particular Salvation Army where I bought the CD had it sealed in their own personalized plastic sleeves. So imagine my surprise when I peeled back the plastic, pried open the case and found a bonus CD hiding in there…



Nothing like a free album from The Postal Service! It’s so great. It’s almost like I knew that disc would be hiding in there, behind that drawing of the ferocious panda. So sometimes, just sometimes judging a book…or an album… is an awesome idea.

For five records and eight relatively non-mainstream CDs (from four different thrift stores, mind you) I paid about $18. Meanwhile, most chain-owned music stores (who never carry anything even close to the Nutty Numbers collection) somehow get away with charging that amount for one album…
So I suppose the moral of the story is that there is more to be said for thrifted music than just show tunes and Herb Alpert.



"We can dance if we want to!"


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Finger Fun for Children: Teaching Scripture Truths One Inappropriate Gesture at a Time.

Way back, when this blog was just a twinkle in my eye, Joe, one of the co-creators-in-crime and myself took to the road for our first ever Thrift Trip together. And you better believe that after rummaging through nine different thrift stores over a span of six different townships, we hauled in some quality finds.

At first I had my doubts over how productive our trip would be. After all, I had lost twenty minutes to the start of our day stuck in Pennsylvania Turnpike traffic. The weather was a scorching 100 degrees and we were cruising around in a car without air conditioning. But when we made our first stop of the day at a Salvation Army on Bethlehem Pike, all concerns were replaced with unadulterated hilarity.

There was nothing out of the usual at first. A fair assortment of knick-knacks, a 50% reduction on blue colored tags and a few older shoppers milling about the aisles. After perusing the considerable collection of vintage-inspired dishware, I had decided to hit the books.

At first glance it was typical thrift store fare. Encyclopedias, microwave cookbooks and previous bestsellers.

But then I spotted it. The talisman that would charm our entire thrifting adventure.




A rare 40 cent find that surely reserves a whole new level of Hell just for me.







I first spotted this gem because of the image on the cover. Now, I apologize in advance if this sounds lewd, crude or completely sacrilegious given the content…but what exactly is that picture!?  That poor child’s face has the expression of some sort of guilt-ridden blowup doll! And the finger gesturing. What is that?

I soon got my answer when my eyes found the title at the top of the cover. 202 Things To Do… okay, nothing wrong there.  At Home, Church, School. No, that makes sense.
Activities and Finger Fun for Children. Um. What…?


What in the name of Moses is “Finger Fun?” And why are we encouraging children to participate?
Well...remember that old “Here’s the Church. Here’s the steeple” bit?
Apparently that is just one of the 202 Finger Fun activities for idle-handed children.

Cute idea. Poor execution. Again, I’m sorry to offend. But this is en epic fail in terms of the title.

Finger Fun, really?

The description of the contents on the book’s back cover doesn’t lend any help either.

Wrong. So very, very wrong.























I’m not even going to comment on the vulgarity in this. Sorry, sorry, sorry. I swear I don’t have a sick mind 99% of the time. If they didn’t call the damn book “Finger Fun,” I wouldn’t think this was anything else than a book with a strange cover.

But you know what they say when you judge a book by its cover, right? So, let’s take a peek at a few of those fun finger gestures, shall we?


These pinching and jerking motions sure are fun!
































And to think, this was just the beginning of our Thrift Trip adventure. But still I wonder. With "over 100,000 in print" as the cover clearly states, are the other 99,999 owners of 202 Things to Do at Home, Church, School: Activities and Finger Fun for Children as amazed as I am that such a thing even exists?

Doubtful. 

Thrift Fail: What NOT to Donate



"Why did I donate that? WHY?"

It’s a known fact that there are many people in this world who can find use even for the most trivial of items. Crafters are leading this very lifestyle. Laughing in the face of the capitalist consumer machine that tells us to constantly discard and replace, these resourceful ladies and gents save and refurnish for future projects.

Then there are those who are simply keen to green living. Minding the permanence of their own carbon footprint, these Earth-friendly folk reuse and recycle common household goods for the purpose of reducing waste.

Well, we at the Let’s Go Thrifting blog salute you. But…when it comes to the thrift store, we might need to discuss when to draw the line between potential donations and pure dreck.

Firstly, let’s think positive. Donating unwanted items to a nonprofit thrift store benefits the community. Your unwanted goods become low-cost stock for people who may not be able to afford otherwise. Or, conversely, people who choose to look for bargains and bizarre finds. Those sales then treat the sick and provide shelter to the poor. So, kudos to you for cleaning out your closet and sending it to to your local Goodwill.

But when you are digging through last season’s trends and bagging them for donation, there are certain items that just shouldn’t be sent to the thrift, EVER.

• Used underwear
• Used jockstraps
• Soiled or stinky clothes
• Garbage

Though secondhand briefs and other assorted undergarments do occasionally make it the sales floor, it’s doubtful there’s a high demand for them from even the most frugal of thrift customers. So send your skivvies to the landfill.

But let’s not be too hasty. There are many a good fashion find in your local thrift store. So imagine the disappointment when you come across the perfectly retro polyester shirt only to find a pair of big ol’ sweat stains under the sleeves. And this does happen. Thrift store staff either don’t notice or don’t care for the apparel’s appearance. But shoppers do. And donors should too. So, please, don’t insult secondhand shoppers with something stained or smelly. Just let the garment go to the garbage bin. We promise we’ll forgive that minimal  and necessary waste.

And speaking of garbage: the staff of the Salvation Army shouldn’t have to wade through it when they’re expecting donations. I’ve seen it happen. And really, no one likes going elbow-deep in trash when they’re expecting to unearth a customer’s potential treasure. Separate your trash and donations in two different bags, and be sure to drop the right one at the curb and the right one in the donation bin.

With that being said, go ahead. Drop off your unwanted items at the thrift store. Even those hideously tacky holiday sweaters. Even that decade-old Tom Clancy novel. I guarantee that someone will want ‘em. So long as they’re not stinky, stained, or draped in a old pair of Fruit of the Loom.