Katonah Thrift Shop Book Sale Kicks Off

For some days now, the cozy, little store in the basement of the Katonah Memorial House has been humming with activity—bookshelves have been hauled in, cartons opened and books arranged.

The stinging chill has been no deterrent for the ladies at the Katonah Thrift Store. They've been busy putting the finishing touches to their weeklong, annual book sale, which kicked off on Monday. It will run through Saturday. 

The book fest is one of the several philanthropic annual events organized by the store, aimed at raising funds for diverse community organizations.

Three of the yearly staples are: (1) sale of silver goods, held in March (2) April is reserved for the hugely popular linen sale and (3) the book sale, which has no set schedule.  

Between 2008 and 2009, it was able to put together $41,000, of which $25,000 went to civic institutions and $ 16,000 supported 16 $1,000 scholarships at the town's high schools, said Corrine Repp, the store manager.

For the last one year, Kathryn Phelps, overseer of the store's books division, has been assembling stacks of paperbacks, hardcovers and coffee-table tomes.

"I've been doing this [managing books] for the past four years, but this year I did something unique." said Phelps.

Bearing in mind that money is scare these days, she has slashed prices by 50 percent. While children's' books start at 10 cents, those for grownups cost only marginally more—anywhere between 50 cents and three dollars.

Clearly, the approach is paying dividends.

"Right before Christmas, I put a $100 art book on Rembrandt on the shelf. It didn't go at $20. It didn't go even at $15. Someone purchased it for $12," she said.

The Katonah Thrift Store is an all-volunteer organization run by the Women's Civil Club of Katonah. Of the 144 club members, roughly 60 lend their time to the shop. Each puts in three two-hour shifts, totaling six hours a month, which makes for a smooth and efficient running of this old establishment.

In the past, residents have simply donated an odd assortment of bric-a-brac, clothes, toys, silver utensils, tchotchkes, picture frames etc. The economic downturn, however, has brought a dip in donations, but a sharp jump in the number of people wanting to sell their merchandize to the store.

"Their number has more than doubled in the last couple of years—from 150 or so, to over 400," said Repp. The thrift store welcomes any item above $5. 60 percent of the proceeds from the sale are returned to the individual.

The financial funk is not dampening business at this end of Katonah.

"It's going very well. We're a big business now, so much so that we've outgrown our space," Repp said.

A World War II era establishment, the Katonah Thrift Shop was founded in 1945 by the Women's Civil Club of Katonah. It has moved to various locations, before arriving at its current address at 71 Bedford Rd., Katonah in the mid-1980s.