Saturday June 21 will be a tremendously exciting day for Tamassee DAR School, and we hope Tamassee’s extended family is excited, too. It seems like the planning and construction of the new Thrift Store has taken a long time — over two years. Staff and volunteers at the new store have been working exceedingly hard for the last few weeks getting ready to move. I have never seen a harder working, more dedicated group of volunteers. They come from many neighborhoods, churches and companies to help do anything that is needed. The phrase “for the children” takes on new meaning when you stop by the store and see the real sweat equity going into preparations for the grand opening on Saturday. Hope you can stop by to have a look around and do a little shopping. And, if you’ve been saving that end table, chair or sofa — don’t forget to consider the Tamassee School Thrift Store when you’re deciding to which worthy charity to donate it. All the proceeds from sales at the store help fund programs for Tamassee’s children.

Tamassee’s historians tell me that the Thrift Shop has been around for more than 50 years. The Thrift Shop is mentioned several times in “75 Years of Mountain Magic,” a book written by Miriam Miller about the history of the Tamassee DAR School here in Oconee County, but it still is not clear exactly when the first thrift shop opened. Most of the records indicate it opened in the 1950s and has been housed in at least two locations on the campus. The original intent of the thrift shop was to provide a collection point for clothing for children who might arrive with no more than the clothes they were wearing, and to collect household items to use in the children’s cottages to make them more home-like. The rest was offered to the community for a small price. It was first tagged “the Rummage,” and then gradually the local community began to call it the “Thrift Shop.” The new enlarged store set to open on Saturday will be called the “Tamassee DAR School Thrift Store.”

The Tamassee Thrift Shop has never advertised its presence on the campus, but I heard about it from neighbors the first week I moved to Oconee County. Sometimes word of mouth can be a most effective marketing tool! The new Thrift Store is a step forward for many reasons. The location on Scenic Highway 11 will make the store more accessible to the communities it serves, and hopefully will catch the eyes of travelers coming and going through our beautiful county. The floor space is large enough to hold furniture, appliances, tools, toys and an expanded offering of home décor items. And, of course, gently used clothing is still offered. Also housed within the Thrift Store is the Tamassee DAR School Visitors Center. There, shoppers and visitors alike can linger in a comfortable setting to learn more about the Tamassee DAR School or pick up information about other attractions in Oconee County.

I was chatting in a checkout line at a favorite West Union grocery store last week when our conversation led to the approaching opening of the new store. This personable lady told me she would visit the store when it opened, but that she would miss the old store because of its quaint location on the Tamassee campus and its friendly staff. I couldn’t wait to tell her about the unique wooden-beam bridge leading to the store off highway 11, and of course, that store manager Dessie Orr and her staff have worked very hard to make sure the store retains its friendly atmosphere and other familiar features.

Whatever name it goes by, the Thrift Store has been and is still a welcome resource for Tamassee’s children, as well as folks who might need an item or two without damaging the family’s weekly budget. And, as a real bonus, any profits made are always invested into programs and services for Tamassee’s children. I think that’s what they call a “win-win” in anyone’s book!

Debbie Williams is the community relations director at the Tamassee DAR School. Williams is a lifelong resident of Upstate South Carolina and has lived in Oconee County for the past five years. She and her husband John live in Salem with a household of rescued cats, dogs and parrots. Williams says Oconee County is her favorite spot in the world because of its native beauty and the genuineness of its residents.