Friends, volunteers, local dignitaries, and customers stopped a moment for a photo celebrating Timmy’s Place 25th anniversary. Tinkess Photo

MORRISBURG – If you happened by the Morrisburg Plaza last Thursday shortly after lunch, you would have been entertained by a selection of popular tunes performed by the band from Timothy Christian School in Williamsburg. The students in the band had made the short trip south to Morrisburg to be a part of the 25th anniversary celebrations at Timmy’s Place, a thrift shop in the plaza.

Timmy’s Place acts as a fundraiser for the school, and always has an excellent selection of clothing, electronics, toys, books, puzzles, and unique home décor items. In an age where “thrifting” is not only necessary for an increasingly large segment of the population, it has also become very fashionable, particularly with anyone who wants to do what they can to “reduce, recycle and reuse” items that may have fallen out of favour with their original owners, but which still have a lot of life left in them. Jack, one of the volunteers at Timmy’s Place, says the store also has a social aspect to it.

“Lots of our customers are middle class, but they just enjoy a bargain,” said Jack. “And today, lots of young people, they want to thrift. They don’t want this new stuff that doesn’t last and they want to keep things out of the dump and keep it recycled.

It’s also just a place to hang out,” he adds. “All winter, long people just come here just to look and talk to somebody because there’s no high-pressure sales, just come in and have a visit. Somebody will talk to you because there’s four of us working here. And you need that social contact.

It’s not just local shoppers either. There are regulars from Ottawa, Brockville and even Montreal who stop in.  “I asked a couple if they had a loyalty card,” said Jack. “And they said ‘No, we’re from Montreal. We just drive out for the day because we found the store and it’s clean, it’s organized, and we just love coming here. So, if we’re out, we’ve got to go somewhere.’ They drive to Morrisburg, have lunch and go to Timmy’s place. Maybe go to the waterfront.”

While the band took a water break, South Dundas Mayor Jason Broad took the opportunity to present Timmy’s Place with a certificate recognizing their anniversary, as well as one from MP Eric Duncan, who was unable to attend as the House was in session. “I’d like to congratulate Timothy’s place on their 25th business anniversary,” said Mayor Broad. “They started in a small location to the east and are now in this current location. We wish you the best on your continued success. Your contributions to the surrounding communities have been invaluable. Thank you for being the staple of our community for the last 25 years, and supporting the school, and the children, and the use to our community is really important.

“I just wanted to thank everybody and thank the volunteers, and I’ll quote something John Ross told me a couple years ago, you know, the municipality, they supply the bones and the community, the roads and the water, but it’s really the volunteers and the people that are the soul of the community, and that’s really true in organizations like this, and how important you are. I thank you, and I congratulate you.”

While the band resumed playing, the volunteers, guests and supporters returned inside to share congratulations, and a piece of cake, and start work on the next 25 years.