Apr 26, 2011

Shepherdstown Store Is The Source For Local, Exotic TreasuresBy Richard F. BelisleHerald-Mail.com

SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.Va.— The Source is a downtown Shepherdstown store different from the specialty and gift shops that line both sides of German street.

A back wall in The Source holds bumper stickers and slogans that would warm a liberal’s heart with messages like “I love my country but I think we should start seeing other people” and “Suburbia: Where they tear out trees & then name streets after them.”

Another wall is a living community bulletin board. Fliers and posters advertise upcoming meetings and events.

Karen Valentine, 40, a divorced mother of three girls ages 11, 13 and 14, opened The Source in November in a stand-alone, small block of a building on the corner of Back Alley and South Princess Street.

“I love this store because it embraces the local community,” said Brenda Robinette of Shepherdstown, who came in on a recent Friday afternoon to buy a few bags of organic sweet potato and carrot chips. “It’s a community resource, a marketplace that brings people together, a place where craftspeople and artists can sell their wares.”

Valentine’s philosophy about recycling and reusing everyday things is evidenced throughout the store. What one person drops off, another takes home to make into something new and usable again.

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