Weird, wild, wacky and wonderful: that’s what customers can expect to find at the Texada Island Thrift Store. The shop celebrates its 40th anniversary of operation this year and Linn Rairie, 69, has been its coordinator throughout that time. From a large marijuana leaf pressed in a book to a box of doggy diapers, when it comes to “stuff,” Rairie has seen it all.
Raising three sons in the 1970s, Rairie wanted to see a thrift store started on Texada to recycle baby clothes and other children’s things and she also wanted it to benefit a worthy cause. Active in the Boy Scouts because of her sons, she realized that the scouts had lots of fundraising activities, but that Girl Guides didn’t. She joined the guiding movement as a supporter and helped to open Texada’s thrift store in 1974 as a fundraiser for the guides. Funds from the store subsidized membership fees so that all island girls could join and enjoy field trips. Today, profits from the store still support Texada’s guide program, including an annual camping trip to Shelter Point Park with Rairie as the leader.
While the first thrift store was in Van Anda, the current store building in Gillies Bay was donated by the search and rescue team and the RCMP after the town’s mining camp was disbanded. It sits on land owned by the Gillies Bay Improvement District and no rent is charged.
“The community gives to the thrift store and the store gives back to the community,” said Rairie. “Contributions of the building and the land help keep our prices low.” A grocery bag full of goods costs one dollar, while a garbage bag full is two dollars. The store is open Sundays, Mondays and Thursdays from 11 am to 1 pm.
Rairie was born and raised in Powell River and first visited Texada on a grade five field trip. “I felt so comfortable and at home that I knew one day I’d live here,” she said. After graduating from Max Cameron Senior Secondary, she moved to Texada permanently. “And I stay because of the warmth of the community and the friendliness of the people.”
She enjoys being involved with the thrift store “because I like to give bargains to people. I enjoy seeing them find what they’re looking for.”
Rairie says the store also donates to the homeless in Victoria through the Mustard Seed Society, as well as to underdeveloped countries and Texada residents in need. The shop is always busy, with more customers during the summer tourist season. Almost everything donated to the thrift store finds a home, including worn and torn clothing, which Rairie says is cut up into rags which sell for $10 for a full garbage bag.
Apart from the book with the marijuana leaf, which Rairie said “sold in a flash,” and the doggy diapers, she and a dozen thrift shop volunteers have acquired a valid Canadian passport from someone who moved away, an adult-sized belly-dancing costume and thousands of other donated items. The inventory changes on a daily basis. The most popular goods are jewelry, cutlery, kitchen utensils, dishes and glassware.
“We get lots of Christmas stuff and costumes, which are useful for both school plays and Texada’s theatrical company, the Rock Island Players (RIP).” Rairie’s favourite time of year is Halloween when she regularly helps islanders find their perfect costumes. She assists both the school and RIP locate costumes and props for their productions.
Years ago, she began doing stage make-up for students in school plays and has taken a theatrical make-up course. Rairie, who done the make-up for RIP productions for about 20 years, continues to study the human face and the aging process. “Doing make-up is fun because you can make school kids into princesses or dragons. One very shy child who had the lead in a school production of The Lion King was really nervous until his make-up was put on.” She often goes to RIP rehearsals “to get a feeling for the characters,” and over the years she’s accumulated a large collection of theatrical make-up. She practices application techniques on herself.
Previously, Rairie was a member of both softball and slow pitch teams, preferring to play second base or catcher. She’s also an expert cake decorator. “If you can draw it, I can create it on a cake,” she said.
