Story by Carolyn Strong
July 13, 2026
Nelson Hershey is at the Columbia Re-Uzit Shop almost every day. Wearing his denim bib overalls, he is one of the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) Thrift shop’s strongest supporters. For fifty years, he has volunteered and worked hard to help the Columbia, Pennsylvania shop support the local community and the mission of MCC.
Origins of the shop
In the mid-1970s, Hershey and his wife, Thelma, saw the early success of another MCC thrift shop in nearby Mount Joy. Along with other Mennonites, they began to wonder if they could start a shop in Columbia. Volunteers in Mount Joy saw how many donations were coming in and talked about it with friends at local Mennonite churches, including the Hersheys’ home congregation of Rohrerstown Mennonite Church.
That sparked the idea of starting the Columbia Re-Uzit Shop – one of 85 stores across the U.S. and Canada that are part of MCC’s Thrift shop network. Each year, MCC Thrift shops generate millions of dollars to support the work of MCC locally and internationally.
Several women, including Thelma, started the shop in a small Columbia storefront. Within a few years, they outgrew the space. While they were looking for a new location, Nelson Hershey, who by then was asked to join the board of directors, noticed a boarded-up storefront for sale on Locust Street that had experienced a fire. After significant community efforts to clean and renovate, the expanded Columbia Re-Uzit held a grand re-opening in 1979 at their new location. The shop is still there today: 363 Locust Street, Columbia.
One step at a time, working together
Hershey is quick to give thanks to God for the success of the shop. Not everyone thought they could do this. One person even took him aside and said, “Nelson, you made a big mistake. This will never work in this town.”
“But we continued with the work. And we’re still here,” Hershey said with a chuckle. He referred to the Bible story of Nehemiah, who rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem by working with others. Hershey sees his own work at the shop in the same way.
“Pray about it, I guess, and take things as they come,” Hershey advised.
Habits that help neighbors
Despite turning 90 years old in mid-February, Hershey still comes to volunteer at the shop six days a week. Since retiring and moving off the family farm in 2012, he’s been able to spend more time volunteering and helping at the shop. He receives donations and fixes items that might need a little extra care, like a touch of paint or a new battery.
During lunch, he can be found in his favorite chair by the donation doors, eating a ham and cheese sandwich on a hamburger roll and a cup of applesauce. He’s the one who turns out the lights each day when the shop closes. His regular habits and rhythms help local customers who need affordable secondhand items while also having a larger impact: supporting international relief, development and peace through MCC.
Gifts of time, expertise and kindness
Hershey is generous with his time and expertise. His blue jean bib overalls have deep pockets which hold many stories and treasures which he shares with others. If shop manager Trixie Jackson is looking for the name and number of the electrician who worked on the shop a few years ago, Hershey reaches into his left front pocket and pulls out a neat stack of small, loose papers. Jackson says, “He has every phone number in his jeans pocket. That’s his rolodex.”
Meanwhile in his back pocket, he still carries his farm deferment paper he received from the U.S. Draft Board as a young man in 1956. He described how his friends with 1-W Conscientious Objector status during that time were sent away to hospitals to work. Many young men were sent to fight in the Vietnam War. Meanwhile, he stayed home to work on the family farm, and later, to support the start-up of the Re-Uzit Shop.
He said, “My time here, refurbishing this old building and all the work that I did, I think I served my time in the town of Columbia here. Instead of going away, I did my work here at home.”
When community members come into the shop, either through the front door looking for a treasure to buy or the back door looking for charitable help, Hershey helps out. He’ll reach into yet another pocket to pull out $5 to buy someone a sandwich when they need it. Shop manager Trixie says Nelson’s kindness sets the tone for the whole shop.
Hershey’s daughter, Carol Wenger, said, “[He] looks at it as a ministry and service to people. His attitude is that it wasn’t about making money. It was about providing a service and meeting a need in the community. That was a big part of their mission from the start.”
“I always felt like God wanted me to do something special,” Hershey says. For the Columbia community, starting the Re-Uzit shop was indeed that something special. After nearly 50 years in business, the shop’s continued success can be linked to the steady, caring presence of Nelson Hershey.
Get involved
When you support MCC Thrift, you’re part of something powerful: A place where everyone wins. For 50 years, MCC Thrift continues to help provide relief, development and peace in the name of Christ for people all over the world. Whether it’s choosing to shop secondhand as an eco-friendly practice, finding a bargain on daily necessities, clearing the clutter from your home, volunteering hours in your week or providing funds for global relief, development and peace programs, countless people benefit locally and around the world because you choose to shop at your local MCC Thrift shop. Visit mccthrift.com/locations to find an MCC Thrift shop near you.
Editor’s note: Carolyn Herr Strong, Thrift Coordinator for MCC East Coast, discovered a unique connection to Nelson Hershey through this interview: his wife Thelma sewed three deep red velvet bridesmaids’ dresses for Strong’s October 1992 wedding at Paradise Mennonite Church in Lancaster County.