To the editor:

Call me a “bottom-feeder” but I love a good bargain. And not just a decent garage sale, I brake for serious junk. It must be something I inherited from my gypsy ancestors or maybe it’s just the deprivation anxiety I feel during a conservative political administration, but I’m getting concerned about the number of thrift stores closing in Lawrence.

The little guys are still in business. The St. John’s Rummage House, the Social Service League and Penn House are still in business, but the national thrift chains are slowly leaving. Last year we lost the D.A.V. thrift store near Hobby Lobby. The building the Goodwill store near SuperTarget inhabits is up for lease, as is the Salvation Army Thrift Store on Massachusetts Street.

What is going on? Are there no longer people in Lawrence who benefit from having a place to donate their cast-offs? Are there no longer students, young mothers or other people who benefit from having a place to go to pick up cheap appliances, baby things or furniture? Maybe Lawrence has gentrified the notion of thrift with stores like Arizona Trading Co. and VintageJunk.

Our town has even lost two of its larger secondhand children’s shops. Unfortunately, the result of this downsize is going to be more and more high quality hand-me-down items going straight to the landfill. It would be wonderful if another local church or agency could step forward and begin accepting donations in the name of another good local charity. The students and thrift-conscious people of Lawrence would thank them.

Megan Helm,

Lawrence