Hopedale Curiosity Shoppe Has Many Surprises

The Curiosity Shoppe of Hopedale, accessed by walking down a flight of stairs and opening a door into two bright rooms underneath the town hall on the Depot Street side of the building, is a completely volunteer run operation. The enterprise brings in around $400 per month to the Council on Aging to benefit seniors in town. Monies are spent to benefit seniors by providing for such things as a refrigerator at the Senior Center space, new partition renovations to the senior center to allow for some privacy, funding for extracurricular activities for residents in town, and more.
The Curiosity Shoppe has been in its location for the past thirty years and until recently felt like a dark basement, but last spring resident Patrick Seaver chose the Curiosity Shoppe as the focus of his eagle scout project. As the result of his efforts, the walls are clean, with a bright, lighter coat of fresh paint, and the entire shop conveys a welcoming feel when you walk in the door.
President of the Friends of Elders, Sally Decelles, runs the shop with the help of a staff of seven volunteers. “We’re always looking for additional volunteers,” Decelles noted during a recent visit to the shop. “Right now there are some empty spots on the signup calendar, so I’ll have to get on the phone to get those spots filled.”
The shop is open Thursday-Saturday, 9:30-12:30 and accepts donations any time the shop is open, or by appointment by calling Decelles—508-473-8679. “We have items such as puzzles, games, books, greeting cards, jewelry, dolls, china, dishes, paintings and such. We do not accept any clothes, electronics or big furniture,” Decelles said.
We were greeted by volunteer Rosemary Trevani and her little dog, who was clearly comfortable hanging out at the shop. Decelles and her volunteers keep the donated stock fresh by rotating items seasonally, and artfully decorating the shelves, table, and front window to reflect upcoming seasons. When we visited they had Christmas decorations up, including small ornaments for sale, but soon the shop will be readied for another holiday. “We have regulars who stop by every week, “Decelles said. “Yardsalers who are always checking to see what we have that’s new since they were last in.” She continued, “One of our regulars arrived with a pen and ink framed drawing of a small shop, and the sign on the shop in the drawing says, ‘The Curiosity Shoppe, by Charles Dickens.’ They gave us the picture on the condition we not resell it—it has a place of honor on the wall behind the cash register.”
You never know what you might find when you visit the Curiosity Shoppe—I visited hoping to find a story, and left with a very affordable box of wooden blocks for my grands. May you be so lucky!