Thrift store enables NE hospital to thrive

Sales of 50-cent children's clothes and dollar jeans may not seem like much, but they have allowed the Litzenberg Hospital Auxiliary to give more than $700,000 to its affiliated hospital in Central City. The auxiliary started in 1954 to benefit the Hord Memorial Hospital. At first the "Pink Ladies," as they were called, would greet people at the front desk and take magazines around to the patients. Nancy Ericson, who started with the auxiliary in 1957, said they would have a huge rummage sale each year with the proceeds going to the hospital. The auxiliary was even able to help fund a whole new hospital when the Litzenberg Memorial County Hospital was built in 1959. Today the thrift shop, at 1601 16th St., usually brings in about $7,000 a month by selling clothing, toys, small appliances, craft items and knickknacks people have donated.