Photoblog: One piece ski-suits

 

The one piece ski-suits in The Re-Use-It Centre have to be seen to be believed! Check out some of the finds we've had over this 2011-2012 Winter Season.

 

Make sure you don't miss out on the ultimate Gaper-Day/ Valley Rally outfit. Come visit us in Function and find yourself a piece of Whistler History.

-Helen, Manager at The WCSS Re-Use-It Centre

Old is new again: VHS movies

Thrift stores are always guaranteed to be a place where old technologies congregate, to be revived and collected by folk who promise them another life.

Avid collectors of LP's, cassettes and now CD's come through on a regular basis to peruse our wide variety of out-dated retro treasure, snapping up old favorites here, taking a $1 chance on investigating an obscure band there... It's gratifying to see the excitement of the "find" take over with a fanatical gleam of an eye.

With all the movie-downloading and whatnot these days, sometimes it's refreshing to go back to basics and watch an old favorite on VHS. We have a huge selection at the moment after one of our customers donated more than half the collection of her and her boyfriend (Boyfriend is out of town... let's hope his heart isn't broken to find his South Park stash has disappeared). Perhaps one of these recent classics will pique your interest...

 1) Braveheart, featuring Mel Gibson: Who can go past the classic tale of one man fighting for what he believes in against all odds?

Best viewed with: someone who enjoys a little battle-type violence.








2) Meet the Parents, with Ben Stiller and Robert DeNiro: An comedy that takes all your little fears about meeting the family of your Significant Other and just runs with them... Cringeworthy, but strangely, you can't look away...

Best viewed with: a large group of people who can't decide on a movie.

3) My Best Friend's Wedding, featuring Julia Roberts: A romantic comedy that doesn't end the way you expect. Some great slapstick, a truly awful karaoke attempt by Cameron Diaz, and plenty of angst.

Best viewed with: Girls.







The possibilities are endless, folks- the VHS shelves are heaving full, and if you find yourself smacking your hand to your face because you ditched your VCR last spring-clean, never fear, we can find you a workable solution at The Re-Use-It Centre for $10 or less.

I don't know about you, but I think I'm going to put the popcorn on!

Enjoy.

Helen, Manager at The WCSS Re-Use-It Centre

How the Mystery Cabinet Came to Whistler!

Sometimes you recycle more than you mean to is the story of a 63 year old wallet found in a cabinet donated to the Re-Build-It Centre. Both local papers ran a short story about the mystery wallet and because of their help, we now have the story of how it ended up in Whistler.

Yesterday I received an e-mail from Eileen, who was surprised to hear that there was a secret drawer in the cabinet she used to own. "I had no idea there was a secret drawer," she writes. "I aquired the cabinet during my first marriage which occurred in 1963. We lived in Glendale at the time (next to Burbank) and it was a hand-me-down from friends of my parents...the Ertels. It was an old music cabinet which I converted to a china/linen cabinet. An I painted it the colour it was when you aquired!"

Eileen adds,"Then it came to Canada with me when I moved here in 1974 with my second husband. It was used still as a cabinet and then was in storage for a bit...in between husbands! Then when I met my 3rd husband and we bought our house, it came into the dining room and was used for a bit until we started buying antique furniture.  Then when we bought the Whistler property in 1985, it moved there...and remained there until the house was sold! While at Whistler, it also served as a storage area for little kids' toys.

Please feel free to share this part of the journey!" Eileen.

John McGregor, a real estate agent in Whistler had received the cabinet when Eileen sold her house, and then donated it to the Re-Build-It Centre when it was too big for his new townhouse. He was kind enough to contact Eileen with the story published in the paper. Thank you to both for helping us fill in more gaps on the mystery cabinet.

Ten Indications You May Be a Thrift Store Addict (or, alternatively, a Dedicated Sustainable Shoppper)

1. You walk into your local Thrift Store, the staff greets you by name and lets you know that a big donation of owls/masks/brass elephants just came in and they've been put aside for you.

2. You bring your own recyclable bags when thrifting, intending to fill them all with treasure.

3. The only way your Significant Other will allow you to even enter a Thrift Store is if you first donate several bags of items back.When you donate items back to a Thrift Store, some of them still have Thrift Store price tags attached.

4. You have at least 3 half-sets of dishes that you slowly add to over years and years of searching for and collecting.

5.You buy items for other people when thrifting, because when you see that particular item, you know so-and-so will love it.

6.You notice when your local Thrift Store moves items around, and are completely disoriented.

7. When thrifting, you purchase "unique pieces" that you intend to match with other items in your wardrobe. These items, when worn, embarrass your family and friends, but you still love them (the items and the family members).


8. Sometimes you are forced, uneasily, leave your basket(/s) aside with the Cashier so you have your hands free to continue shopping. You check back regularly to the front counter to be sure all your treasures are still yours, safely in the basket(/s).

9. You run into fellow Dedicated Sustainable Shoppers who you know solely because you see them every week in your local/favorite Thrift Store. You start to organize regular trips with them, stopping for coffee and eventually making a weekly afternoon ritual of it. You love these folk, but also remain slightly suspicious that they will beat you to the treasure, and only half-credibly swallow your jealousy when they inevitably do pick up those moose antlers before you get a chance to swoop in on them.



10. You've found so much treasure over the years that when people ask you what your best thrifting find is, you can't choose an item (unless you were the lucky one who scored the child-sized Pink Panther recently, and then your answer is obvious)!

Please note that this list was put together by a self-confessed Thrift Store Addict. I love thrifting; even working at The Re-Use-It Centre hasn't spoiled it for me! Just don't ask me what my best find has been... there are way too many to count!


Helen, Manager at The WCSS Re-Use-It Centre

Sometimes You Recycle More Than You Mean To? by Lorna Van Straaten

Photo compliments of wesclark.com/Burbank  Burbankia by Mike McDaniel and Wes Clark

The story of how a donated cabinet and a long lost wallet led to a trip to 1949 Burbank, California!

"If you lost your wallet today, it would be like someone else finding it in the year 2075"

In early December of 2011 someone donated a black cabinet to the Re-Build-It Centre. The Re-Build-It or RBI is a sister store to the Re-Use-It Centre and features good quality building supplies, appliances and furniture. Staff noticed a sound of thudding from a hidden drawer and when they pried it open they found an old wallet, a wrench and a screwdriver. In that wallet was all the normal documents that tell a person who they are, the latest date on a receipt was 1949. Who owned the cabinet in 1949 and how did it get to Whistler from Burbank, California?

Photo compliments of wesclark.com/Burbank  Burbankia by Mike McDaniel and Wes Clark

Sixty three years ago Harry S. Truman is president of the United States. South Africa has just institutionalized apartheid. A first class stamp costs .03 cents. Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer is a hit and is played on 45 records. One of the top movies is 'Sands of Iwo Jima'.  By 1949 the second world war has been over for 4 years and the baby boom has just added 32 million 'Boomer' babies to the world population. In Burbank, California the first 'Big Bob' restaurant is built and immediately is referenced as a true landmark of the community. The Burbank studios are off the ground but the big employer is still Lockheed Aviation. Automobile sales, aviation and electronics are booming, as are housing sales. And in 1949 Burbank experiences their first ever snowfall.

Photo compliments of wesclark.com/Burbank  Burbankia by Mike McDaniel and Wes Clark

In 1949 Donald Milford Townsend lives at 828 East Fairmont Road in Burbank, California. He is 38 years old and has three kids, Marolyn, Carolyn and Dale. He and his wife Frieda are renovating their 8 year old home. He comes on one day after work and leaves his wallet sitting on the new cabinet. Frieda is tidying up, she throws Donald's wallet along with a wrench and a screwdriver into the secret drawer of the cabinet, putting them out of sight. Unfortunately, she does not recall doing this and the wallet now stays 'safe' for the next 63 years! *

Frieda with Marolyn, Carolyn and Dale in 1946

                                               

The items in the old wallet found at the Re-Build-It Centre paint a clear picture of what life is like in 1949 Burbank. Donald has just paid $10 to get his 1948 tax return done. Obviously working on the new house, he has been to 'Walls Distinctive Paints', A Valley Furniture Outlet, 'Duratile' and a re-upholster for their furniture. He has bought two new modern; pieces of furniture, 'Obsolete' cabinets costing $10 each. On January 10th, 1949 he pays the municipal court of LA $1 for a driving infraction; he had turned left from an outside lane and gone to court to fight it, but lost.

       

Donald is an electricians helper, a member in the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and along with that membership card carries a blood donor card at all times. He works for Burbank City and makes $281.60 a month. In the wallet is his social security card. He also has a paper credit card for the Tide Water Associated Oil Company and one for 76 Union Oil. In his wallet is about $2 in change including a 1942 silver half dollar, now valued at about $7 because of the silver content.

     

Donald passes away in 2005 at the age of 91 and is buried in Forest Lawn Memorial Park. He dies never knowing what happened to his wallet all those years ago. The family home is sold after Frieda dies in 2007 and it is a calculated guess that it is at this time that some or all the furniture in the home is sold or given to family members.Somehow at this point it makes its way to Whistler, BC Canada.

This week, the wallet is finally going home. After its long trip through time it has not been easy to contact family still alive. After many attempt to contact Donald's children, a cousin is receiving the wallet as she is the only one who responds to emails.

The story of how this cabinet made its way to Whistler is still with the person who originally donated the furniture to the Re-Build-It Centre. The donor is encouraged to contact lorna@mywcss.org so this part of the story can be told. In the meantime, we look at each old piece of furniture donated to the Re-Build-It Centre with fresh eyes, wondering what story it also has to tell.

                                                             ***

*author's license (it is one way the wallet could have been lost)
**Big Boy pictures and city hall snow 1949 used with permission of www.wesclark.com/Burbank See Burbankia by Wes Clark and Mike McDaniel for many wonderful old pictures of the area.
Other photos by Lorna Van Straaten

Ways to give: Helping your community in the quiet season

As Whistler Community Services Society’s (WCSS) Re-Use-It Centre continues to work towards providing support for programs like the Food Bank and Outreach Services, we’re taking some time to broaden our fund-raising initiatives. There are plenty of ways to support your Whistler community, keeping it strong, happy and healthy.

1)     DONATE! The Re-Use-It Centre: we currently have a huge need of everything from house wares to clothing, sports equipment, shoes, movies, electronics… The Re-Build-It Centre will happily take used furniture in good condition and larger appliances in working order. Are you a local business? Ask for a tax receipt for new or lightly damaged items donated.  

2)     RECYCLE!  The Re-Use-It Centre is now home to 3 different recycling programs: Return-It, for computers and TVs, stereo and computer equipment, Unplugged, for house hold electronics such as microwaves, hairdryers, blenders and toasters, and our newest initiative, can and bottle collection. Local users of the waste facility at Function Junction (on site for the store) will have noticed the addition of 2 new bins, put together by Regional Recycling, for bottle collection.

This exciting new recycling program enables The Re-Use-It Centre to collect the bottles and convert them into funds to support WCSS.

3)     VOLUNTEER! The Re-Use-It Centre is happy to involve you, the community, in the day-to-day life of our awesome store. Lend a hand for a few hours a week to make a visible difference to the store and to our community. Every hour you give is rewarded, and you get to meet our great team as well as be a part of WCSS’s greatest fund-raising program.

4)     SHOP! Shopping thrift is always an adventure, but The Re-Use-It Centre is a unique thrift store in that all the funds raised stay local, to help people you know and love

5)     We were voted “BEST PLACE FOR A DEAL” in 2011… and who doesn’t love a deal in this town?

Thank you for your ongoing support! We couldn’t do all the amazing things we do in the community without your help. Here’s looking forward to another year of sustainable living, good karma and showing a little love for your Whistler community!

Helen Taylor,

Manager at The WCSS Re-Use-It Centre.