09/03/2026
It's with heavy hearts that Patriots & Paws Thrift Store and Museum will be downsizing our store. Over 4 years ago we were doing good and decided to upgrade to a larger size when the unit next to us decided to move. We had done this before as we had 2 stores before this one in North Carolina and it worked out great, we made the transition flawlessly and went from 1500 sq. ft. to over 6,000 sq. ft. Also you must understand I was never a business person and never owned a business in my life but doing this move was one of the best things that we ever did with that business called U.S. Vets Thrift. We mainly gave to the veterans but would help anyone out in need and we were Blessed that we were able to help so many people. We were traveling down to Florida a lot after we had the business for quite some time because I had already had a major shoulder surgery and was still having several issues with my other shoulder, neck, back, knees, and we also had our daughter in Florida with 2 grand babies so we were coming here and our 3 boys were running the store in our absence. It finally got to the time to make a decision about making a move back to Florida since driving back and forth was taking a toll on both Greta and I so we decided to make the move full time to fix all the issues I was having, I needed neck, back, shoulder, and possibly knee surgery so we decided to sell our beautiful dream home and head back to Florida, it wasn't a hard decision since I was born and raised in this great state. We came back and I ended up having 2 neck surgeries, a lower back surgery, and a surgery in the middle of my back and it seemed to help tremendously! We decided to open another Thrift Store on Merritt Island since we lived on the Island for years. My son was running the store up in North Carolina and we decided to try to talk to a good friend of mine who owned the building it was in and he was a vet also so I offered him the store for free with all the contents in it and he was already an experienced businessman and I figured it was a good fit. He said yes, we stayed around and showed him everything and gave him a list of organizations we had been giving to for close to 10 years and he did great. Our plan was to come down and open a Thrift store on Merritt Island and then our oldest son would come down and take over, he could pull a salary and the rest went to our groups or people that needed help, whether they be a family who had a house fire and we could supply them clothes for the entire family and give them some cash to help them out. We called ourselves Patriots & Paws Thrift Store and Museum, the Patriots were going to be the first responders, police, dispatch, corrections, Firefighter/Medics, Nurses, Teachers, Aerospace, and the Paws part was for the animals as we have a very soft spot for them because of our love for them. When I decided to put most of the uniforms on mannequins that cost us a lot of money but I thought it was worth it to show our respect for what these men and women had done for the people of America, so when I did all the uniforms, put together military uniforms on both sides of their flags and put up all the other memorabilia that we had it really turned into a real Museum that people could come in take photos, learn about these heroes, and bring their children, make it a family affair as I gave free tours and we never charged any admission for the museum. It seemed to go over very well but the downsize to having a large space was of course the extra money for rent and electricity. We had David Martin from Fox 35 contact us since he saw our business on Google and wanted to do a story on us since he looked around the United States and couldn't find anything like it. I was ecstatic and thought this would really help get our name out there but that unfortunately didn't happen. We would have people come in everyday and say this place is great and your prices are cheap, the museum amazing, "How long have you been here? I would tell them over 4 years and they would say we live right across the street and never knew you were here. I put up 20 ft flags that said Thift Store Open, had a double marquee sign, I had a "Wacky Man" he was 30 ft tall but no one seemed to notice. I advertised on Google, Facebook and Marketplace but no one seemed to notice. We were also ranked the #1 Thrift store in Brevard County by Google but it still didn't help the business
I put anything and everything that came in new to the store took photos, and posted them but nothing seemed to get us noticed and it continues to this day. We continue to remain diligent and try to do new things to attract business and let everyone know we're here. The reason why I did this store was simple, in 1979 straight out of High School, I joined the United States Coast Guard until 1983, I decided to put myself through the Central Florida Fire Academy unfortunately about a month before I was suppose to start my training I was attacked by several individuals with a large club and it snapped my arm in half and I thought my hopes to become a Firefighter would be problematic as the doctors told me I would never use my arm again especially trying to be a Firefighter. I worked very hard in that month and they let me try. Going through Fire Academy was not easy with my injuries since it shattered my forearm like a jigsaw puzzle and I still had plates and pins in my arm sticking out everywhere just under the skin. I did make it through in the top 5 of my class and was offered a job in Ft. Myers and excelled, I received my medic training and ended up running the 10 story ladder platform truck and since I wasn't afraid of heights I did well. I got tired of running rescue every shift and watching everyone sleep as we ran all night and left watching the others sleep. My brother was a Florida Marine Patrol Officer in the Florida Keys and on Holiday weekends he would ask me to come down and ride with him to give him a hand as a designated diver or helping out with any injuries. One of these volunteer trips paid off as we made a great case of poaching and I actually free dived down over 30 ft and had the poachers come up with all their illegal lobster and my brother made the arrest. The Director of the department was flying around above us in the helicopter and asked us to have lunch with him and he wanted to meet me. I met him and he asked me if I had any ambition to work in law enforcement for his department, I said I would love that job and he advised me of an upcoming academy in about 6 months and he would love to see me there but he gave me no promises, if I passed the entry exam and testing I would be hired as a recruit and then I had 6 months of intensive training but if you fail one part, that includes any
tests that there were no 2nd chances you were out. Needless to say I passed and was stationed in Brevard County and luckily I got the job that I was made for and made Lieutenant in 3 years and had a great career, just before going to the FBI academy and getting promoted to Captain I was working an off-duty job at the Merritt Square Mall with Mall Security and we were trespassing a young man and didn't realize he had over 15 gang members with him and it was just me as the LEO and about 8 Mall security. When all hell broke loose, I cuffed one, his very large brother jumped on my back and I got a cuff on him and he was a very large individual who outweighed me by at least 60 lbs, we began fighting, I knocked him out with a punch and then without realizing how many bad guys were there I was struck many times from behind with these big sticks and clubs on my head, face, neck, back, arms, legs and just about everywhere, I looked around for help from Mall Security but they had all been knocked out laying on the ground. The only thing that saved me as they had broken all my keepers on my gunbelt was a new safety holster we had just went to and they couldn't get my gun out and a Deputy friend of mine who just had surgery came out of the mall and called 911 and told them to send the Calvary or there will be some people getting shot in the parking lot and he was correct as I had just pulled my gun when Brevard County Sheriffs deputies arrived and arrested over 15 gangmembers wanted on drug charges, weapons charges, money laundering charges among several other charges. They were arrested on several charges and counts including admitting if they could've gotten my weapon that night they would've killed me. They were charged with battery on an LEO, attempted murder of an LEO, Resisting with and without violence and several Federal Felony charges, me I was lucky! To this day I'm totally and permanently disabled and my disability doesn't allow me to make any money and that's why we don't keep any of the money from the store and we try to help as many people as we can. We have decided to downsize because we can't afford the larger store so we're going back to our original side we started with and we truly hope that this will allow us to be able to pay our groups more money and not have to use our own money to pay the business bills. We love what we're doing and all our customers are often and we've met some of the greatest people here on Merritt Island and we thank each and everyone of you for all the help you've given us and we just want to say "THANK YOU"! You all have been wonderful and we appreciate you all very much. The store is looking great, we are almost done and look forward to finishing the store and we hope everyone likes it and God Bless you All!
