What’s Old Is New at Seniors’ Thrift Shop

Most thrift stores carry similar items, like clothes, books, plates, glasses and furniture.

But what makes the One More Time Senior Thrift Shop on High Street special is that it’s operated entirely by senior citizens and has been since it was established in 1985.

“We have anything and everything you can imagine,” said Madeline Kucinskas, 80. “And we sell it, too.”

The store is open six days a week and run by six volunteers from the nonprofit Moorpark Active Seniors. The shop supports itself, and funds from its sales are distributed to more than 20 other charitable organizations.

In addition, members from Moorpark Seniors Inc. distribute food at the United Methodist Church on Flory Avenue to low-income families in the area.

A thriving store is unusual on High Street, which has seen businesses, including the Moorpark Playhouse, face bankruptcy due to lack of patronage.

Anna-Bell Sessler, 81, the founder of the store, said that when she started the shop in August 1985, she asked the City Council for money to help pay the rent for a building on the corner of High Street and Moorpark Avenue.

Within three months, Sessler said, the store grew so much that it had to be moved to its present location at 220 E. High St.

Kucinskas said most of store’s items are collected from families living in the more affluent southern section of the city and are bought by people living downtown. But people from outside Moorpark also visit the shop, Kucinskas said.

“They come from all over,” Kucinskas said. “Saturday and Sunday are our busiest days. People from the [San Fernando] Valley and Los Angeles say they want to stop by the thrift store on the old Victorian street.”