Yellowknife (Nov 08/06) - The retailer in Yellowknife rivaling WalMart for widest selection is perhaps the Salvation Army Thrift Shop on Franklin Avenue.

Amidst the clothes, toaster ovens, plates and other necessities lurks a Slip-and-Slide crazy banana or pogo-stick you know you've wanted, but haven't seen anywhere else.

Salvation Army Thrift Shop Manager Agnes Christensen with up-and-coming volunteer Milo Pisz, sporting a thrift shop toque. - Jason Unrau/NNSL photo

"There's all kinds of treasures here," said Agnes Christensen, shop manager. While Christensen said she's not found anything in the way of "treasures" for herself, she's always looking.

But more important for her are the necessities the shop offers - items such as gloves or coats people seek when the weather becomes cold.

"I like working here, helping people on the street," she said. "And it's the people on the street willing to pay the money and the people who have the money that sometimes aren't."

Christensen, who has managed the shop for eight months, is speaking of folk who treat the thrift shop like a perpetual garage sale and try to strike a deal, which annoys her no end.

"I get people who will dicker all the time but I hold firm," she said. "But for the people who do buy a lot, they can get a bit of discount."

Shop volunteer Amelia Pisz confided that Christensen is more than reasonable when it comes to helping those in need.

"Anybody who's on a fixed income, they can tell this to Agnes and she cuts them a fair deal," said Pisz.

Open from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday to Friday, the shop is always looking for donated items.

"There's never too much of anything, really," said Christensen.

"There's always things you need and right now I'm low on gloves."

Low on gloves, maybe. Low on cheesy nods to the eighties? Absolutely not!

A quick inventory revealed two - not one but two - cassette tape soundtracks for Andrew Lloyd Webber's Cats. Not into musicals? Well, home exercise enthusiasts may prefer a copy of Jane Fonda's "new workout", circa 1985.

Or maybe you're interested in the shops batch of knick-knack coloured elephants.

"The man who brought them in told me it was good luck to have an elephant in your house," said Christensen.

Those interested in donating items can take them to the Thrift Shop, or to the Salvation Army's main location, also on Franklin Avenue.