Sense of family surrounds thrift shop volunteers

  • Published
  • By Nick DeCicco
  • 60th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs
TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  The volunteers at Travis' Thrift Shop share more than merely a work space. 

This collection of retirees and community members - some of them tied with the store nearly 45 years - speak, one after another, about a sense of kinship between them. 

"We're a big, happy family. That sounds like kind of cliché, but it's true," said Mark McIntire, manager of the shop. "When you work with a group of people long enough, you become like a family." 

The volunteers are an essential part of the shop's lifeblood. They log more than 3,000 hours per year. There are four employees at the Thrift Shop, so "most of the work here is done by volunteers," Mr. McIntire said. 

The longest running of those is Mitzi von Kaenel, a volunteer who's been at the shop in some capacity since 1965. 

A retiree, Mrs. von Kaenel and her husband of 67 years, Earl, settled in the Solano County community after their second stay at Travis. Their first came when the base was named Fairfield-Suisin Army Air Base prior to its change in 1951. 

Since their return in '65, Mrs. von Kaenel has witnessed the shop's many metamorphoses - a slew of Mr. McIntire's predecessors as manager as well as the store's multiple relocations. 

Mrs. von Kaenel said she enjoys seeing the different things people bring from around the globe, but most enjoys the "pleasant" experience of being with the other volunteers as well as symbolically repaying the Armed Forces. 

"It's a chance to give back something to the service, which gave so much to (my husband and I), and it's something I enjoy doing. It's just a continuation of that," she said. "It's like going back to school and having fun with classmates." 

One of those she shares time with is Helga Spaulding, who's been at the shop since the early 1980s. She echoes the sentiments about the Thrift Shop family, saying there's camaraderie between the volunteers. 

"If somebody needs help, we help them," Ms. Spaulding said. "Not just here, in their personal life, too. It's all connected." 

Ms. Spaulding refers to fellow volunteer Lois Horner as her best friend. Ms. Horner, who has hearing loss in her left ear, said the experience of working with the other volunteers has helped her conquer some of her insecurities regarding her condition. 

"I'm very self-conscious about my hearing," she said. "(Being a volunteer) helped me be more outgoing and taught me to speak up." 

Ms. Horner is a newcomer to the group at five years. Meanwhile, Wanda Giguere, a Naval Reserve retiree, has been with the Travis shop since 1991. She came into the Thrift Shop to do consignments and was subsequently drafted as a volunteer. 

Aside from the community inside the walls of the store, Ms. Giguere said she feels connected to the Team Travis family by the way the shop reaches out and provides a service for the area. 

"It's a great way for military families to clean the garage," she said. "There are great bargains for the home and for children." 

Getting out of the house and interacting with the community is a draw for Edward Moore, a volunteer who retired from the Air Force at Travis in 1976. He worked for Budweiser's plant in Fairfield after that and retired from there, as well, before beginning to volunteer at the Thrift Shop in 1998. 

"You get to learn about what's going on in the world other than what you see on TV," he said with a boisterous laugh. "I enjoy it. It's a chance to get out and mingle with people."
Mr. Moore, Mrs. von Kaenel, Ms. Spaulding, Ms. Horner and Ms. Giguere are only a few of the volunteers Mr. McIntire credits with helping keep the shop's doors open throughout the years. 

"There are times this place probably wouldn't have stayed open if it weren't for them," he said. "Historically, they're the ones who held this place together. They've sustained it and kept it operating." 

Thrift Shop proceeds are divided between the Officers and Enlisted Spouses clubs, which distribute the money for scholarships as well as other events, activities and organizations such as the Air Force Sergeants Association, annual awards banquets, annual volunteer recognition, chiefs' induction ceremony, Red Cross and Fisher House. 

The shop's business hours are 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Tuesday through Friday.
Consignment items are available from 10 a.m. to 12:45 p.m., Tuesday through Friday.
For more information, call 437-2370.