Mound House thrift store bursting at seams

Dick Harrington, 70, spends most of his week color coordinating and organizing collectibles, electronics and other items inside the Friends In Service Helping's 1,600-square-foot thrift shop in Mound House.

Harrington, who started volunteering at the thrift store about five months ago, rummages through the store's collection of artwork, displayed in their "Louvre."

"That's all I do all day is put stuff where it belongs," Harrington said.

A lot of that stuff, mostly furniture, is still outside the warehouse with nowhere to be placed inside. Manager Nicky Wilson said the thrift store needs someone to donate tents to protect the items before winter arrives.

"We need coverage outside," Wilson said. "This time it's serious business, tarps are just not going to do it this time."

Since the thrift store moved from its location near Dayton to Mound House in November 2009, Wilson said the shop has grown little by little with new customers from the region.

"We don't have the (court assigned people) like we used to out there," she said of the staff. "Now we have a regular crew."

The thrift store has eight volunteers and some longtime employees, including Sue Perry who runs the cash register. Wilson said Perry has been with the Lyon County F.I.S.H. store since it opened about eight years ago.

Its collection of goods ranges from vintage books, to Santa Claus figurines to high heeled shoes as well as valuable collectibles such as a 1953 pedal car worth nearly $2,000, Harrington said.

The clientele is diverse, too. Some come to the store's food bank - which offers free bags of produce for families in need. Harrington said one couple from Monterey, Calif., drove all the way to Mound House for a set of wooden chairs.

"People that normally wouldn't go to a thrift store," he said. "They're looking for something special or interesting."