THRIFT STORE SHOPPING

BY DAN SANKEY
Staff Writer


Look at our photo essay!

Shoppers forage in a vast jungle of clothes in the Goodwill (below) at 2279 Mission Street. PHOTOS BY COLEEN CUMMINS

San Francisco is blessed with over 37 used clothing stores, which is good news for poor students who want to upgrade their closets and daily ensembles.

Since most thrift stores give to a variety of charities, shoppers can choose to better the world while they better their wardrobes. Buying used clothes is also a way of recycling and reducing waste.

Halloween is coming up, and thrift stores offer one of the best ways to create a costume. But be aware, because San Franciscans take Halloween creativity seriously — so be ready to take it up a notch.

Regardless of the style, unique and cheap clothes can be found along with furniture, picture frames or electronics that are often times brand new.

In order to be successful at thrift shopping, some basic skills should be employed.

Shop the same stores regularly and check the brand labels. Some people don’t like brand names, but they often signify quality.

Be sure to wash the clothes before wearing them, as many of them are the donations from the deceased.

Beware of the word “vintage,” as this label often means “overpriced.” Buyers shouldn’t be afraid of haggling. Big stores have set prices, but smaller stores offer the opportunity for making deals. Point out defects to further bring down the price.

Even at the best stores, there is no guarantee of success — but therein lies the essence of the consumer high: finding a mind-blowing deal.

Thrift Town is one of the largest and most organized thrift stores in San Francisco and was Winner of “Best Thrift Store,” in The San Francisco Bay Guardian’s 2005 “Best of the Bay” issue. Although it is for-profit, it nevertheless donates money to the Lifehouse and The Arc charities, both of which benefit people with developmental disabilities.

The ubiquitous Salvation Army thrift store is a Christian-based charity that has a large and diverse selection beyond clothes, from brand new mattresses to a breast pump still in the box. A “Quality Corner” separates the new or better condition goods that tend to be relatively more expensive from the store’s other items.

For over 140 years, this charity has been aiding people in need around the world and most recently after the devastation on the Gulf Coast.

Community Thrift is a bit disheveled. If the clothes are arranged, it is in a pattern indiscernible to the layperson. With persistence, however, true bargains can surface from the muddle. The store donates money to over 200 different charities.

Held Over specializes in clothes in the vintage vein, but rises above the rest because its more selective buyers find clothes worth the higher price tag. It is an excellent spot to find accessories that will bring your Halloween costume up to the next level.

Each Goodwill Industries store is independently run and they vary greatly, but the best location is in West Portal. The majority of clothes at this location still have the original tags. Goodwill’s profits go toward job training and support for the homeless or disabled.

The memories of schoolyard embarrassment from wearing clothes bought at places such as The Salvation Army may still sting, but these feelings should be overcome. Students are poor and have bigger priorities now. After all, books, food and beer do not grow on trees.

e-mail: dsankey@theguardsman.com

RUMORS OF CAMPUS GHOSTS

BY JON GUNTON
Staff Writer

Students and faculty have claimed to have had eerie experiences in the secluded basement of Science Hall. PHOTOS BY SONIA SAVIO

As Halloween approaches, what is unknown to some is that City College has a few ghostly rumors.

Inmates of a former jail have been said to haunt Science Hall on Ocean campus.

“For many years there were rumors that circulated amongst the students and some instructors that vestiges of a jail remained under Science Hall,” said Christopher Kox, head of the college’s historical archives.

Science Hall was actually built on the ruins of the Ingleside Jail, which was the San Francisco county jail.

According to historical documents, the jail was a terrible place. Reformers even protested in 1908 because prisoners had to share extremely small cells in decrepit conditions. Residents in the nearby community were so happy when the jail was torn down that they threw a large party to celebrate its demise.

The claustrophobic underbelly of long, narrow corridors that now stretch through the bottom floor of Science Hall have long been known to induce goose flesh and stir rumors of ghostly activity.

“That basement is a creepy place,” Kox said. “Some said that ghosts would occasionally come out of those catacombs and wander around down there.”

Not everyone is sure the stories about the building are true. “I’ve heard the rumors about Science Hall being haunted, but I’ve never come across anything that would verify them,” said Professor Austin White of the social sciences department, who is the author of an upcoming book about City College’s history.

Science Hall is not the only place on campus that incites fear. The entire campus at night has been known to give night class attendees the heebie-jeebies.

“Just being on campus at night is spooky in general,” said night student Christine Hollihan-Boothe. “It’s so big and empty. I don’t know if it’s haunted, but being alone there really freaks me out sometimes.”

Dave, a student who asked his last name be withheld, echoed Hollihan-Boothe’s sentiment. “The campus is a little scary at night. I used to smoke weed by that big stone head after my evening classes. Something about that thing at night — looking at me — just crept me out.”

The piercing ancient stare Dave referred to belongs to an exact replica of an Olmec Head that was placed outside the Diego Rivera Theatre last year. There is evidence that the Olmecs were practitioners of human sacrifice.

Despite the rumors that have circulated over the years and the eerie vibes felt on campus by some students, some think the college seems to be free of any prevalent paranormal force.

“In all my research, I’ve never come across anything that had a ghostly quality to it, or anybody haunting the campus,” White said. “I always wanted to, but I have not found any spirits wandering the buildings shouting, ‘I want a better grade’ or anything like that.”

Nonetheless, when students roam the campus engulfed in darkness, an eerie feeling can sometimes be felt. Perhaps it is the tortured spirits of Ingleside Jail, or perhaps it is all in the students’ collective imagination.

Whatever it is, keep an eye out for the spirits that might haunt City College.

e-mail: dsankey@theguardsman.com