For Ball State University students returning to campus, this is the time to see old friends and move into new apartments, houses and dorms.
While settling into their new apartments, students might realize there is just something missing. Often they know what it is, and sometimes they won't. But in a large number of these situations many students are turning to thrift stores and garages sales to find that special decorative touch.
As summer nears an end and more classes begin, garage sales are popping up in neighborhoods all around Muncie.
Ball State senior theater major Adam Turkette was shopping at Goodwill on Saturday and said he was just trying to see if there was anything good on sale.
Turkette said while he didn't shop there often, it made sense to go on occasion.
"It's closer and a lot cheaper than anything else," he said.
The Rev. Jeff Dugger, of the Jackson Park Baptist Church, volunteers at the Walnut Street Baptist Mission thrift shop at the corner of South Walnut Street and 8th Street on the city's south side. Dugger said the store was preparing for the rush as students and their families arrived in Muncie in time for move-in.
"We'll be swamped with Ball State students," Dugger said. "They come in here, and they'll be buying desks and lamps and fans and tables and chairs and little things to make their apartment neat and homely while they're here."
Dugger said while a sizeable percentage of the mission's customers were either Ball State students or Muncie residents, he knew of a few people who made a farther trek to the thrift store.
"We have people that literally drive from as far as Rushville to come here," he said. "Now what those people do is they are antique buyers. They go to places, and one guy runs this route, and he'll always stop and buy stuff."
Dugger said while the store did advertise on occasion, the main thing that brought people there was word of mouth.
"Students that come here, when they come back they'll bring friends, and then they'll tell friends," Dugger said. "And they're always finding something they need."
Muncie resident Shirley Henry said she shops at the store several times a week and said it is a positive experience that keeps bringing her back.
"They're really good people," Henry said. "And sometimes I find things that I really, really like that are inexpensive."
Dugger said recent economic downtimes have led to an increase in the number of people who shop at the Baptist Mission and thrift stores like it. The prices there help people make their money last longer, he said.
"If someone's hairdryer quit, they'll run down to the mission and get one for a dollar instead of paying $16 for a new one that does the same thing," Dugger said.
He added that large household appliances such as washing machines and dryers had been selling the most recently.
There are numerous thrift stores around Muncie, and a seemingly countless number of garage sales going on all the time. Ball State students will soon be
beginning their quest for all sorts of items. And with so many thrift stores and garage sales in Muncie, they are likely to find just what they went looking for.
Local thrift storesATTIC WINDOW400 W. Memorial Drive
GOODWILL5035 W. Hessler Road
SAINT VINCENT DEPAUL920 E. Charles St.
WALNUT ST. BAPTIST MISSION Corner of South Walnut and 8th streets.
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