It didn’t take long for Jan Knewtson to get bored.
After 34 years as a downtown retailer, Knewtson retired in August. She expected she would relish sleeping in, maybe clean and organize her drawers and closets.
“That got pretty boring, pretty fast,” she said. “When you work all the time, you think about how much time you’d have if you could stay home all the time. But it was boring.”
Cue Ginny Hawk, who leads the board of directors for the Second Chance Thrift Store at 209 South St. The store’s proceeds support the Allen County Animal Rescue Facility.
Hawk called her with an offer to manage the store, fully expecting the recently retired retailer to say no. “If you want to hang up on me, you can.”
To Hawk’s delighted surprise, Knewtson said yes rather quickly.
“I couldn’t say no. It will give me something to do,” she explained. “It’s a not-for-profit. And my husband is a veterinarian, so I have to love animals.”
Knewtson ran three retail clothing businesses, Sophisticated Rose, Tuxedo Junction and Sophisticated Rose Plus. She also owned and rented several apartments in the same building, which has been sold.
She had been in the Second Chance thrift store a few times and was impressed by the organization and friendliness of the volunteers. It seemed like a chance to continue to practice her retail skills, but in a more relaxed way. She also is the choir director and organist at Wesley United Methodist Church, and plans to help as a piano accompanist at Allen Community College.
The opportunity to have someone with Knewtson’s experience was too good to pass up, Hawk said.
“Our store has gotten so busy and well-known. We have so many customers and so many donations. We need somebody to oversee it,” Hawk said.
Knewtson’s responsibilities will include supervising volunteers, making schedules, setting up displays and helping clean and price donations.
The coronavirus has presented several challenges for the thrift store. It has closed a couple of times to protect the volunteer staff and customers.
The store has between 12 and 14 volunteers, but they tend to be senior citizens who are most vulnerable to the potentially dangerous symptoms of COVID-19.
The store reopened last week, but with reduced hours. It will be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. Masks must be worn.
