Fun Finds at the SPCA Thrift Store !

Posted On October 9, 2013

By Stephanie Kelley

In the last issue of the Blackfly we published an article about the SPCA Thrift Store in Plaster Rock, but I had not yet visited the store personally.
When I delivered the BFG on Wednesday Bill Mosher gave me a little private tour of the store, but it was not open for business. I saw lots of books and interesting stuff that clearly needed to be investigated further, so I returned the following Saturday.
The SPCA Thrift Store is on Main Street in Plaster Rock, in the old Blue Mountain Pharmacy building. Property owner Mark Barry generously allows the SPCA to use the premises, and it is only open on Fridays and Saturdays as it is staffed solely by volunteers.
 
As I pulled up on Saturday the parking lot in front of the store was full. Local shoppers regard the place as a new village variety store. It has only been open since last May, but it has been very busy as regulars come every weekend….you never know what you will find here! And good stuff goes fast. In the case of this thrift store, you snooze you lose!
Students heading off to college came in to pick up dishes, cutlery and utensils at truly bargain prices to outfit their own kitchens.
 

Ray, Sharon and Lisa were the staff on hand on Saturday, and at least a dozen people came and went while I was there. I headed for the books first…my own personal incurable addiction…and picked up 4 interesting looking volumes.
One big, fat paperback I grabbed is titled “Caesars of the Wilderness” by Peter C. Newman. This was an exciting find! I had not previously heard of Mr Newman, but he is a remarkable Canadian journalist and writer. “Caesars of the Wilderness” tells the history of the Hudson Bay Company and their bitter rivals, the North West Company, as they battled each other to exploit Canada’s Native population and wilderness in their quest for furs and glory.
 

Although Canadian history is steeped with blood, colonialism and violence….like all histories…the feats of the Hudson Bay Company and the voyageurs of the North West Company were truly remarkable.
The Hudson Bay Company was controlled with an iron fist by its board of directors and aristocratic stockholders, while the North West Company valued independence and the personal freedom of the agents. Ultimately, the NWC was absorbed by the HBC. Control, management and structure won in the end.
 

Peter Newman makes an interesting point that when the Hudson Bay Company won supremacy it made much of the northern half of North America a company town, whose inhabitants displayed individuality and imagination at their own risk. Because the trading posts and forts were owned and controlled by the Hudson Bay Company, deference to authority was demanded.
These attitudes, the importance of allegiance, the stressing of collective survival over individual excellence, of faith in protocol and respect for the proper order of things still colour what Canadians do and, especially, don’t do.
 

This cracks me up….so perceptive and so true! The whole world is at a crossroads right now, and it’s going to take a whole lot of independent spirit and thinking for ourselves to move past the collective corporate empire that the elites of our country, and the world, want for themselves!
 

But back the Hudson Bay Company. The fact that it existed when it did, and kept its forts and trading posts along the then only vaguely defined boundary separating British North America from the USA kept Canada under British control. The HBC protected its monopoly on is trading areas fiercely and vigilantly, or what is now the Canadian Prairies could have easily become a second Oregon.
 

Right around the corner from the books was a display of prints and pictures. I was thrilled, and amazed, to find a pair of beautiful vintage framed Art Deco Turner floral prints!
Turner prints were not painted by any one artist. Turner was a company that made inexpensive, mass produced prints in the 40’s and 50’s that are now considered highly collectible. A Turner print will have a little signature down at the bottom right of a print, with a copyright symbol.
Sometimes the prints were given as a little extra gift when people made furniture purchases. The two floral prints I found at the thrift store are in their original cream coloured wooden frames, and bear stickers on the back that say “This is a Phillips Company Toronto Product”.
 
I already possess one Turner print, pink flamingos with a mirror frame. Turner prints are kitschy, sure, but I love the look of them. They have a rich and dreamy quality that I find quite peaceful to look at.
Once you see a few Turner prints you will immediately recognize the style and look.
 

I also found a very nifty wood etching of a Phoenix done by Plaster Rock artisan Winslow Chase, who creates beautiful handcrafted Tobique Bush Gems. Winslow had enhanced this burnt etching with a bit of gold and red glitter.
The Phoenix is a mythical bird that symbolizes death and rebirth. The old Phoenix must die before the new can rise from the ashes…it is symbolic of our human need to cling to the old and fear change but in order to fully realize a new life, the old life must die. I thought it was a great symbol to find, both personally and for all of our river valley villages.
We can create new paths to abundance and prosperity, but we need to embrace and foster new ideas and ways of living.
I find it quite interesting and entertaining that I spotted, in the same week that I acquired the phoenix picture, a turkey vulture…which is also regarded as a symbol of death and rebirth in many cultures.
 

The SPCA has some larger furniture items as well, that are kept at the storage trailer next to the shelter in Arthurette. You can call to ask if they have any specific items you might need.
There are still some Halloween items left, and you could make up a great costume with thrift store finds.
And there are still plenty of Christmas decorations and ornaments to choose from. You can make your home holiday festive on a budget, and provide financial assistance for the shelter.
 

The store plans to stay open as late in the season as possible, but the building is not heated at the present so when it gets too cold, it will close for the winter.
So stop in soon on Friday or Saturday, 9 am-3 pm, do some shopping, and say hi to the staff. Donations are always welcome too….you can clear your clutter and help the shelter at the same time!