Anyone looking for a Vikings shirt with the number 28 might find it at the Goodwill Store at 3600 S. Washington St.
There you see everything from coffee mugs and chairs to a wall plaque with the words of Elizabeth Barrett Browning. There are jeans to wear back to school and dishes for students setting up housekeeping in apartments.
On a recent tour of Goodwill, I moved along through shelves loaded with books, telephones and dog kennels.
And I kept thinking of the old saying that one man's pain is another's pleasure.
Second-hand stores sprinkled around Greater Grand Forks are operated by agencies helping people as well as by individuals in private businesses.
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Among my August second-hand survey was a stop at the Goodwill Shop, along with The Homeplace at 1811 S. Washington and St. Joseph's Social Care and Thrift Shop at 620 Eighth Ave. S.
Goodwill is a statewide nonprofit organization that provides work experience and employment for people with disabilities. St. Joseph's provides help including a food pantry for the needy. With the opening of school, the need for clothing reaches a peak.
St. Joseph's was started with help of the Catholic church after the Flood of 1997 ravaged Grand Forks.
The Homeplace is operated by Prairie Harvest - an agency that provides housing for people with mental disabilities.
It is a large, inviting, clean, well-kept place. One of the volunteer clerks told me she thinks the popularity of such stores is part of the recycling trend. There no longer is a shadow over second hand shopping.
You look. You listen. And you learn that volunteer help usually keeps some second hand stores running. Some shoppers come to buy goods they can re-sell. The stores often receive leftovers rummage sales held at private homes.
"This is the best time of year for donations," said Renae Steffan, store manager at St. Joseph's. "It's like Christmas every day. You open boxes sometimes and sometimes find brand new things someone couldn't use."
Ask Marilyn
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Q. If you aren't going to a lake or canning tomatoes, what could you do in Grand Forks this weekend?
A. Lots. The Farmers Market should be loaded with the goodness of gardens Saturday morning downtown. Then, History Rocks on Sunday at the Grand Forks Historical Society grounds on Belmont Road.
Q. Has Philip the Fly been back to Grand Forks this summer?
A. Yes. Philip is back now in late summer. It seemed for a while he was bypassing the Forks. But he is more pesky than ever.
Mark and Ruth
Cheerful people of the week: Mark Pryor and Ruth Ann Schleif.
