Julie Thurston stands in front of the family’s new venture, Grit and Grace Mercantile.
Julie and Brian Thurston had a shirt-making home business, and were asked to come to rodeos to sell their wares.
This, along with living in a rural community and having a local college with a rodeo program, prompted their newest venture, Grit & Grace Mercantile at 323 E. Wall.
They thought that with the many local rural communities, and rodeos ( a big fashion/decor trend, she said) they would step out in this venture. Julie previously had designed decor for weddings.
Julie Thurston showing the lines of jeans the mercantile carries
Their boutique sells Western clothing for men, women and children, along with decor and furniture.
Some of the women’s clothing that is sold at the boutique.
“A little something for everyone,” Julie said.
Julie said her husband’s brother has a funnel cake truck and they are hoping to have him at the business site during the upcoming Christmas on the Bricks festival, Dec. 4-7.
The Rest of the Building
They closed on the purchase of the two-story building, circa 1911, on October 24. Thurston said she heard that at one time there was a candy factory in the building and, most recently, a rural real estate agent’s office.
Their storefront neighbor, Dr. Erin Crank, will continue her chiropractic business in the building.
Upstairs, they have been readying two living spaces for use as short-term vacation rentals.
One of the bedrooms of a short-term rental unit on the second floor at 323 E. Wall that the Thurstons now own.
There are two apartments: a two-bedroom, one-bathroom living space and a one-bedroom, one-bathroom living space.
One of the bathrooms of a rental on the second floor of the building that the Thurstons own.
She said they hope to have the rentals available by the holidays.
Fort Scott Washateria also houses Fort Scott Community Closet.
Submitted by Linda Lovelace, owner
As we go into the colder time of the year, I want to take the time to remind Fort Scott of the Fort Scott Community Closet.
This is Lori Lovelace, owner of Fort Scott Washateria and Fort Scott Community Closet, located at 501 S National.
We have been providing clothing, coats and other items to those in need of them with the help of the generous folks of this community for six years now.
I want to say a special thanks to St. Mary’s school and Mary Queen of Angels Church who have supported us year after year with coat and clothing drives. We have coats right now along with clothing for any who are in need.
We don’t ask what your circumstances are, we have no income or other requirements, we take in the clothing and other items and give them out, no questions asked.
We can do this because of YOU, Fort Scott.
We are currently bringing out coats and they are hanging on a rack in the Washateria, if you need a coat, come in and check out what we have. We are putting out coats as they are given away so if you don’t find one that fits, stop by again.
The Closet is open Mon-Fri 10-6 if you would like to go through our tubs of clothes as well. To those who are sorting through clothes looking to donate, our most requested items are children’s clothing of all sizes, adult t-shirts, sweatshirts, hoodies, sweat pants, jeans, coats,
Fort Scott, Kan. – Learn Native American stories and experience dance performances by the Oklahoma Fancy Dancers. Then learn how to work with Feathers that adorn the dancers in traditional Native Plains fashion. All activities are free and open to the public.
SATURDAY, JUNE 7
10 a.m. – Ranger Guided Tour of the Fort, meet in the Visitor Center
1 p.m. – Oklahoma Fancy Dancers (Native American Cultural Dance Presentation), Parade Ground
2:30 p.m.– Make & Take Traditional Native Feather Workshop for youth and some space for adults, meet inside of the Grand Hall
Fort Scott National Historic Site, a unit of the National Park Service, exhibit areas and visitor center are currently open Friday through Tuesday from 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Park grounds are open daily from a half hour before sunrise until a half hour after sunset. To find out more or become involved in activities at the Fort, please contact the park at 620-223-0310 or visit our website at www.nps.gov/fosc.
The west porch of Bethsada Christian Church, at 101 S. Judson, has donated items that are free to those in need at any time. Submitted photo.
Becky Cowlishaw purchased the former Christian Church at 101 S. Judson in 2016 and renamed it Bethsada Christian Church.
“About 7 years ago, in 2017, I saw an idea a friend of mine had shared on Facebook that I wanted to replicate. I started taking donations to give away winter coats, gloves, hats, and scarves,” Cowlishaw said.
That idea soon turned into giving away donated clothing of all kinds as well as bric-brac and other household items, Cowlishaw said.
\
Becky Cowlishaw. Submitted photo.
She knows there is a clothing need in the community and asks those wishing to donate clothing to do the following:
“1. I would prefer a message or text letting me know an approximate time frame, if at all possible, as to when the donations will be dropped off. This allows me to get the donations taken inside where I can separate and hang items if needed. If bags are left on the porch without my knowledge many times I will find the bags ripped and items scattered.
“2. Do not donate dirty items, junk, trash, etc. That should go without saying but you would be surprised /shocked by what I have come across while going through bags and boxes.
“3. I ask that any items taken are for you or family members to personally use. I have had reports of items being taken with the purpose of selling those items.
“4. The donation box in the alley is not associated with the church. I did ask for the box to be put there so that I could forward non-wanted items to another organization. Just know, if you put your bags of donations in the box in the alley, those donations are not staying local. It’s the donor’s choice, but wanted to clear up any possible confusion.”
Clothing donations to stay local are left on the west porch on Judson Street.
Food Is Available Also
The Blessing Box has nonperishable food for those in need. Submitted photo.
“I also have a food Blessing Box on the west side of the building,” she said. “Should anyone have donations of non-perishable food items feel free to put your items in the box, no prior arrangements are necessary.”
“My intent and prayer is for the truly needy ( single mothers, folk with low income, the unemployed, the homeless ) to possibly come across items that they or their family can use,” she said.
“I understand how much of a blessing it is to have my family’s needs met when I didn’t have the finances to meet those needs. I want others to be blessed too.”
Donors can contact her through Messenger on Facebook pages at
Better in Bourbon, a boutique clothing store at 13 N. Main in Historic Downtown Fort Scott, is celebrating its second anniversary this evening.
Rachel Pruitt opened the business in December 2021.
“Better in Bourbon started as a pop-up concept, but thanks to the incredible support received, a permanent location was established in late 2021,” she said.
“We sell women’s and ‘tween girl clothing and accessories. We also offer permanent jewelry,” Pruitt said.
Some of the merchandise is in Better in Bourbon. Submitted photo.
“In the Fall of 2023, I experienced the loss of my father following a determined battle with cancer,” Pruitt said. “Tragically, my mother also fell unexpectedly ill and passed away. Facing the loss of both parents within such a short period, I found myself in desperate need of support.”
She turned to her friend Denise Beaman who helped her in the shop when Pruitt couldn’t be there.
“Without Denise’s timely assistance, Better in Bourbon wouldn’t have reached its current standing,” Pruitt said. “Denise is in charge of merchandising and is my only employee.”
Rachel said she and Denise are grateful for the opportunity to serve the community and are excited about their expansion plans on the horizon.
Rachel Pruitt, left, and Denise Beaman. Submitted photo.
Rachel and Denise bring their wealth of experience from both the retail and wholesale industries to offer expert styling services, according to a press release from Pruitt. Their boutique is renowned for its size-inclusive range, offering everything from wardrobe essentials to one-of-a-kind pieces.
Tonight, February 9, the two will be having a special ladies’ night from 6 to 8 p.m. at the store.
“Enjoy permanent jewelry specials as our way of saying thank you for your support over the years,” Pruitt said. “Sip on delicious drinks and enjoy Crooners Cakery treats while you shop our latest collections.”
Merchandise in the Better in Bourbon Boutique at 13 N. Main. Submitted photo.
Some of the merchandise that is for sale at the upcoming warehouse sale.
Key Apparel has been a local business for over a hundred years.
“Key has been in business in Fort Scott since 1908 and was founded on bib overalls,” said Brenda Brown with sales support and merchandising for the business.
Key Industries, Inc. in Fort Scott is having its 15th Annual Warehouse Sale from Saturday, November 18 from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., then from Monday through Wednesday, November 20-22 from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.
The sale continues on Friday, November 24 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., then Saturday, November 25 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
“We have first quality products,” Angie Carr, Key’s Operation Project Coordinator, said. “We also use the sale to sell discontinued styles or colors, and irregulars-say for instance where a stitch is not completed and didn’t pass inspection but we can go ahead and closeout. That will be noted to the customer, we will specify why it is irregular.”
The sale this year is at a new location at 2400 S. Main St. Suite 200, between Hibbets and T-Mobile in the strip mall.
The annual Key Warehouse Sale has moved to the space between Hibbets and T-Mobile in the strip mall on Fort Scott’s south side.
“Previously, we were at the former Gordman’s Store space under a short-term lease,” said Carr.”We have the same amount of merchandise (in the new space) as in previous years.”
Key Apparel is an official clothing sponsor of the Kansas State Fair and to commemorate that designation, Ike, the Bison, a collectible toy, will be sold.
“They make ideal stocking stuffers,” Carr said.
Ike the Bison will be sold at the annual Key Warehouse Sale.
Payment of cash, Visa, Mastercard, or Discover will be accepted during the sale.
Santa sits on a bench in front of The Ironstar and gets a second look from Ernestine Eden in this 2017 photo of the annual Holiday Open House.
The Fort Scott Area Chamber of Commerce announces the Annual Holiday Open House Shopping event, Downtown & Around in Fort Scott. The main event will take place Thursday, November 9th from 5-8pm with festive refreshments, drawings & deals for you to enjoy and get you in the Holiday spirit! Then, Open House will continue Friday & Saturday, November 10th &11th. On Thursday the trolley will be going store to store from 5-8pm so you can shop & ride!
There will be spirited holiday shopping at nearly 20 participating retailers including 110 South Main, Angie Dawn’s Boutique, Barbed Wire & Roses, Bartelsmyers Jewelry, Better in Bourbon, Be The Light Boutique, Bids & Dibs, Flint + Fray, Hedgehog.INK! Bookstore, Iron Star, Laree + Co, Long Creek Outfitters, Papa Dons, Ruddicks Furniture, Sekan, Shirt Shack, Sunshine Boutique, The Artificers, and The Beauty Lounge. Don’t forget to enter your name at each store for a chance to win $50 in Chamber Bucks!
Visit fortscott.com or the Chamber Facebook page for more details. Get out for the Annual Holiday Open House Shopping Event Thursday, November 9th through Saturday the 11th in Fort Scott.
Frankie’s Mission is having a drive and will be set up at Ft. Scott Walmart, on Saturday, October 21st from 10 am to 6 pm .
“We are trying to get items for the homeless,” said Vickie Crowe. “Everything helps. We help the homeless and less fortunate with items they need like hygiene items, blankets , coats , gloves , hats , snacks ,water etc.”
“I started the mission in honor of my son who passed away last year,: she said.
Carol Oakleaf, left, and Lori Lovelace show the donation can for clothing to the Fort Scott Community Closet which is located in the Fort Scott Washateria in this 2019 photo.
Fort Scott Washateria is a family business that was opened in September 2019 by Carol Oakleaf, her daughter Lori Lovelace, son-in-law Leroy Walker, and her son, Doug Oakleaf.
“As a part of our community outreach we have partnered with Community Health Center of Southeast Kansas, Healthy Bourbon County Team, and COPE to have Wash Wednesdays starting November 1st,” Lovelace said.
Communities Organizing to Promote Equity (COPE) is a project of the Department of Family Medicine & Community Health, Kansas University School of Medicine. To learn more: [email protected].
Each Wednesday, starting Nov. 1, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. a limited number of washers and dryers will be available for free.
Lovelace is the managing member overseeing business operations.
“As part of our business goals in Fort Scott we provide services for the community including the Fort Scott Community Closet which collects clothing and bedding donations from the community and we store and distribute them to people who need them,” Lovelace said.
The Washateria is located at 501 S. National Ave.A small building at the Washateria houses the Community Clothes Closet.Inside the Community Clothes Closet at the Washateria.
On November 1, the Washateria will have a new community service, Wash Wednesday, offering one free cycle of washing and one free cycle of drying to a family, two times a month, Lovelace said.
The Washateria will provide the laundry detergent and dryer sheets for this program, she said.
In addition, on Wednesdays, Lovelace will make sure the Community Clothes Closet is open for those who may need clothing or bedding.
The normal hours for the closet is Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. “People must come in and sign in to have access to the closet while their stuff is washing,” she said.
The washing machines that will be available for the Wash Wednesday program.The dryers that will be available for the Wash Wednesday program.
The guidelines for Wash Wednesday:
The 22lb washers hold the equivalent of 2 loads of a home top-loader, 1 load per family.
However, people will not wash comforters, blankets, large mattress pads, etc, because those bulky items do not spin out well in the small machines and won’t dry in one dryer cycle.
“We request that this free service be utilized only two times per month for each customer so that the maximum number of folks can use the free machines,” Lovelace said. “We will have a sign-in sheet to keep track. The same family can only come two times a month.”
“Laundry customers must stay with their laundry and transfer their clothes to the dryer, our transfer service is not available as we have to move quickly to keep the machines going,” she said.
About Washateria
“We are a public laundromat and we do wash/dry/fold services for the public as well as commercial laundry,” she said. ” We also provide custom services such as starch/press and steaming.”
The Washateria is staffed, and open 8 a.m.-8 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 12 p.m.-8 p.m. on Sunday.
Hours of the Washateria.
“Customer service is of utmost importance to us and we happily help folks who come in with any questions and help with the machines,” she said. “We have state-of-the-art Speed Queen commercial washers and dryers in a variety of size loads, 4 loads, 6 loads, and 8 load washers and small, medium, and large dryers, the dryers are sized for our machines. Our machines take quarters as well as debit/credit cards and we have a loyalty card that provides a discount when it is loaded to be used in the machines.”
Fort Scott Washateria is located at 501 S National Ave on the corner of 5th and National. For more information: 620-644-9834, email: [email protected]
