Attic Thrift Shop celebrates 20th anniversary

The Attic Thrift Shop, located next to the Jacksonville Community United Methodist Church (JCUMC), has opened for the season and is celebrating its 20th anniversary at 1869 Trumansburg Rd. in Jacksonville.

“I like volunteering at the shop and enjoy helping with it as well as all the church events,” said volunteer and church member Joyce Basilisk. “I was baptized in the church. My mom and dad were members. I’ve enjoyed the church since I was a little kid. It’s been a community for me.”

The building that currently houses the Attic Thrift Shop had been used for many things over the years: as a school house, for Sunday school classes, youth events, church bazaars, meetings and social events. When the schoolhouse closed in 1962, the building and the land became the church’s property.

“I love the church and all that it offers to the community,” said church member Nancy Housworth. “It’s like a family to me. My husband, Bill, and I were married there in 1970. Our daughter was baptized there, and her two children were baptized there too.”

In 2002, church members Pat Schreiber and Terri Harris established the Jazzy Jumble Shoppe as a church outreach mission. The name was chosen because “jumble” is what a thrift shop is called in England and “jazzy” to keep the J theme going, matching the shop’s location in Jacksonville.

“In 2015, the shop was renamed the Attic Thrift Shop and was a safe and comforting summer place to shop during the pandemic,” said church member and “accidental” church historian Beth Hickman. “Although Pat and Terry have since passed, their legacy lives on within the shop. In the 20 years since it began, it has continued to be a place for friends to find each other and for people to connect within the community. It also continues as a mission opportunity and is still a great place to find the best deals in town for upscale, second-hand items. It offers something sure to appeal to everybody.”

Hickman said she’s been dubbed the “accidental” historian because of how much she’s “researched and learned about the church.”

“There have been times in the past that there were church historians — there’s just none now,” she said. “I enjoy it so much and all that it has to offer. I do love this little old church.”

The shop accepts donations on site on Mondays between 10:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. and is open for shopping every Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The shop accepts clean household items, next-to-new clothes from pet fur-free and smoke-free donors, jewelry, shoes, purses, small kitchen appliances, gardening and small shop tools, do-it-yourself projects and craft supplies.

“We do a lot of outreach in the community through the thrift shop,” Hickman said. “We have made Easter baskets for people in need in the community and have knitting projects for donations to get Christmas gifts and assemble blessing bags. The shop started as a mission and still is. If someone in the community needs something and is going through a difficult situation and we have it at the shop, they can take it. We’ve had families that have lost everything in fires and have suffered other tragedies, and we will coordinate what we have to give them what they need.”

In another extension of their mission work for the community, the JCUMC has its Mutual Aid blue cabinet located on the property, providing food and other essential nonfood items, no questions asked, to community members in need.

“The food cabinet opened up again in the end of April,” Hickman said. “Food and nonfood donations can be dropped off right inside the cabinet, and anyone in need can come and take what they want. There is also a cooler there to put perishable or temperature-sensitive items in during the warmer months. All are welcome. We do ask that anyone leaving donations use the hook latch to keep the cabinet door shut so unwanted critters are not tempted to explore what’s inside.”

Church members remain dedicated to contributing to their community and welcoming all to their thrift shop and their beloved church, where they feature events ranging from craft bazaars and bake sales to holiday Easter egg hunts and gingerbread house decorating.

Information on services, events and the Attic Thrift Shop can be found on the church’s Facebook page at facebook.com/jcumccommunity and on the church’s website at jcumc.com.

Trumansburg Connection appears every Wednesday in Tompkins Weekly. Send story ideas to editorial@VizellaMedia.com.

In brief:

Book sale

Ulysses Philomathic Library, 74 E. Main St. in Trumansburg, is holding its annual Spring Book Sale May 11 through 14. This year, the sale will have an indoor and outdoor format. Hours are May 11 from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and May 12, 13 and 14 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. May 13 and 14 are name-your-price days.

Build-a-birdhouse day returns on the Saturday (May 14) of the sale from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Materials and instruction will be provided. All are welcome.

French ConéXion Redux at the Conservatory

On May 13 from 7 to 9 p.m., come to the Trumansburg Conservatory of Fine Arts, 5 McLallen St., to see French ConéXion Redux, featuring Jeremy Spindler on accordion and Bernard Kunz on guitar.

French ConéXion Redux is a unique cultural exploration of music in the French Musette tradition, Gypsy jazz à la Django Reinhardt, Tangos, Brazilian choros and forrós. Kunz and Spindler create music that catches the imagination, whether it’s traditional standards or original compositions.

The small format of the duo allows for intuitive interaction, interpretation and improvisation at every turn of their performance. Tickets are $12 in advance at TCFA.live or $15 at the door.