58 | OCTOBER 24 • 2024 J
N

Looking Back

From the William Davidson Digital Archive of Jewish Detroit History 

accessible at thejewishnews.com

Getting Thrifty
W

ho doesn’t like a bargain? Maybe a few 
billionaires? Most of us, however, are 
always on the lookout for a good deal. 
One place for that might be a local thrift shop.
My interest in this topic (beyond my personal, 
lifelong quest for a good deal) was 
piqued when I recently read about the 
expansion of the National Council of 
Jewish Women’s (NCJW) “Re|Sale” thrift 
store on West 12 Mile Road in Berkley. 
To be frank, while I had heard of the 
Re|Sale store, I had no idea as to its 
history nor that of other historic Jewish 
thrift stores in Metro Detroit, let alone 
the role of thrift shops across America.
BTW — did you know that 
Aug. 17 is National Thrift 
Shop Day? This day celebrates 
the rewards of “thrifting” 
and, as important, the many 
contributions to charitable 
organizations from thrift shop 
profits.
I decided that the idea of 
thrift stores was a worthy topic 
for a cruise into the William 
Davidson Digital Archive 
of Jewish Detroit History. It 
was most interesting after I 
narrowed the search a bit. If 
using “National Council of 
Jewish Women” as your search 
term, a mere 5,000+ pages cite this organization! 
Needing to narrow further, using “Thrift Shop” raised 
300 citations in the Archive and “ReSale Shop” was a 
topic on 74 pages.
Not all mentions of thrift shops, however, relate to 
Jewish nonprofits. Himelhoch’s, the famous Detroit 
women’s apparel store, for example, published 
advertisements for its “thrift shop” (Aug. 29, 1942, 
JN).
My first discovery from the Archive was that 
several local Jewish organizations operated thrift 
stores over the years. I learned that Hadassah had a 
thrift shop in Ferndale. There is an item in the JN 

about its third anniversary (Feb. 2, 1976). 
Danny Raskin’s “Best of Everything” 
column in the Sept. 18, 1987, JN mentions 
B’nai B’rith women and their “Second 
Chance Thrift Shop” in Oak Park.
I found stories about two other thrift 
stores. The “Women’s Club” column in 
the June 29, 1962, issue of the JN cited the 
Pioneer Women’s thrift shop. For many 
years, ORT ran the “ClothespORT” thrift 
store in Ferndale.
The NCJW’s Re|Sale shop appears to 
have the longest tenure. It was established 
in Detroit in 1934. The first mention 
of the shop is in the Nov. 11, 1934, Detroit Jewish 
Chronicle, in the “Social 
and Personal” column. It 
announced teas at the homes 
of NCJW members held to 
gather used clothes for the 
“resale” shop. 
At one time, there were 
three Re|Sale stores. In 1990, 
the remaining store moved to 
its current location in Berkley. 
The Re|Sale shop has also held 
Zoom fashion workshops 
during COVID (May 5, 2021) 
and added a “Home Décor 
Room” (June 3, 2021).

Two feature articles in 
the JN discuss the history 
of ClothespORT and the Re|Sale Shop: “Thrifty 
Thinking” (March 11, 1988) and “Have I Got a Deal 
for You!” (April 21, 1995). In addition, a very nice 
article by Robin Schwartz celebrated 75 years of 
NCJW thrift shops in the June 25, 2009, JN. 

Jewish thrift stores have a long history, but it is 
good to remember that they have been much more 
than a place for a bargain. They have generated 
substantial funding for many worthy causes and 
helped a lot of people. 

Want to learn more? Go to the DJN archives, available for free at 
thejewishnews.com.

Mike Smith
Alene and 
Graham Landau 
Archivist Chair

