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Volunteers at the San Manuel Historical Society Thrift Shop stand ready to serve. Why not stop by and check out the store? John Hernandez | Miner
San Manuel Miner
Kathy and Dennis Phipps along with their wonderful volunteers are now managing the San Manuel Thrift Shop and the San Manuel Historical Society Museum. Kathy and Dennis are long time San Manuel residents with a lot of retail experience. Kathy worked at the old Brooks Department Store and Dennis worked a bread and milk delivery route for Clovis Holcomb and then worked at Gordons until it closed down.
The all volunteer workers (no one is paid) have been busy cleaning up, painting, rearranging the store and brought it up to meet fire and health codes. “I give a lot of praise to the volunteers for the work they do,” said Kathy. “It is all for the benefit of the community.”
“We want the community feeling comfortable when they come in and our friendly volunteers make them feel welcome.”
“All proceeds from the store after paying bills go to supporting the Tri-Community.” “We donate anywhere that will benefit the community and the kids. We want to see San Manuel prosper,” added Kathy. The thrift shop has started donating money to local churches that have started food collections for the food bank and those in need.
The thrift shop is always looking for donations of any kind. They cannot accept used mattresses or used children’s car seats due to health regulations. They are always in need of volunteers even if you can only do one hour a week. Handyman skills are needed and they can use someone with a truck to pick up furniture. The San Manuel Thrift Shop is open Monday through Friday 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. It is located in the Elks Plaza at 137 8th Avenue. Come in and browse, find a bargain and give to your community at the same time.
The San Manuel Historical Society Museum is located at the Elks Plaza. It is supported by the San Manuel Thrift Shop and donations. It is run by volunteers and they are always needed. They are looking for volunteers that know a lot about the mining history, the town’s history and someone with knowledge of Indian artifacts that can help identify some items.
The museum is dedicated to collecting and preserving the history of San Manuel as well as the lower San Pedro Valley. The Phipps say that once the museum is set up they would like to do seminars and maybe have some speakers. They will be getting some photographs soon from Carl Mathews who has knowledge about the Magma/BHP plant and was allowed to go inside the plant and take pictures after BHP shut down.
The museum is open Wednesdays and Fridays 3 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Special arrangements can be arranged for a tour or for research by calling 520-385-4465 or stop by the thrift store. People are welcome to come in and pick up a free DVD San Manuel a Legacy of Mining and Reclamation.
John Hernandez lives in Oracle. He is retired and enjoys writing and traveling. He is active in the Oracle Historical Society. He covers numerous public events, researches historical features and writes business/artist profiles.
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