Patricia Dickey says a common reaction of first-time customers to the Friends of the Library Shop in downtown Skowhegan is that it’s more a boutique than a thrift store.

Everything in it — books, glassware, dishes, baking pans, toys, jewelry and holiday-themed gifts — is sparkling clean, well arranged, tastefully displayed.

That’s because the six women who volunteer there, all of whom are retired grandmothers, run it as if it were their own business, paying attention to every tiny detail.

They don’t earn a penny for collecting, cleaning, organizing and selling the colorful merchandise, and they’d have it no other way because the proceeds go to a cause near and dear to their hearts: the Skowhegan Free Public Library.

The 61 Water St. shop, sandwiched between Joe’s Flat Iron Cafe and Northern Mattress & Furniture, was started in 2020 by Lynda Quinn and Karen Lewia. Lewia got the idea for opening it as a library fundraiser.

Skowhegan Library Director Angie Herrick recalled the library had just been renovated and money was tight.

“The board was looking to cut hours or staff or services and Lynda Quinn said, ‘Why in the world did we renovate the library if it’s going to be empty and lifeless?'” Herrick said.

Quinn is president of both the Friends of the Library Board and the Bloomfield Academy trustees board, which manages the library. She, Lewia and Kurt Karkos launched the library shop and stocked it with all donated items.

After paying shop rent and electricity each month, volunteers turn over revenues to the library, which uses it for programs, services and other needs such as furniture or equipment. The first year, the shop raised $40,000 for the library and since then, between $25,000 and $30,000 a year, Herrick said.

“It fully funded the children and adult summer readings programs the last five years,” she said. “It helped fund brand new flooring, hardwood and carpeting, throughout the library, which was over $100,000.”

Money from the three-room, 500-square-foot shop paid for computers that library patrons use to write resumes, find jobs and do telehealth. As a library director, Herrick said she feels fortunate, as she knows of no other library that has such a shop and dedicated volunteers who constantly have her back.

“I don’t know what I’d do without them,” she said. “It’s like having access to grants, 24/7. I’m so grateful because we have this beautiful, vibrant library that has all these services. “

The library, on nearby Elm Street, opened in 1889 and this past year, had a budget of $320,000, $208,000 of which came from taxation, Herrick said. The library sees just under 30,000 visitors a year and hosts 250 programs, including sit-and-knit groups, public movies, story time, book clubs, “crafternoons,” Legos and reading sessions.

Shop volunteers say it does more than that. It provides a warm and safe place for children and adults, including those who are homeless. Internet was extended so patrons may use their laptops outdoors. Proceeds from the shop were used to buy a changing table at the library for mothers who visit with their babies.

At the shop Thursday morning, Dickey, a retired Skowhegan town manager, and Quinn, retired teacher, 21-year veteran chair of the town’s Board of Selectmen and current chair of the local school board, were chatting with volunteer Debra Sterling, a member of both the Friends and Library trustees boards. Sterling is retired from a 30-year career at Sappi and taught for 13 years. Her husband, John, also is a shop volunteer, along with Pat Waite, Sally Knight and Chrissy Pollack. Debra Sterling noted that they check the value of donated items on the internet before pricing them.

“We usually discount that by at least 50%,” she said. “This is Skowhegan. This is not a wealthy community and if we don’t sell these items, no money goes to the library, so what’s the point of the store? We want people to come.”

Open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday through Friday, the shop is decidedly a happy place, where old and young come to browse, buy and chat with the lively volunteers who like to talk and joke around.

“We have a floor show,” Quinn quipped. “We start picking on each other and jabbing each other and making snide remarks about things. Then we get to laughing and the customers join right in. They’re hysterical.”

Judy Whittemore of Skowhegan and Nancy Connors of Ripley walked in Thursday carrying bags of donated items including books and mugs. Whittemore described the shop as fantastic; Connors said she always visits when she comes to town, and always leaves with something.

Mary Cayford of Cornville arrived with books and a tea set to donate.

“This is my favorite store in downtown Skowhegan to give and to get,” said Cayford, a retired teacher. “Coming here is like a little reunion. I used to sing in the choir with Lynda Quinn. I’ve gotten things here for my lodging business — all kinds of things.”

Amy Calder has been a Morning Sentinel reporter 37 years. Her columns appear here Sundays. She is the author of the book, “Comfort is an Old Barn,” a collection of her curated columns, published in 2023 by Islandport Press. She may be reached at [email protected]. For previous Reporting Aside columns, go to centralmaine.com.