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16 - The Oakville Beaver, Wednesday June 4, 2008 www.oakvillebeaver.com Living Oakville Beaver LIVING EDITOR: ANGELA BLACKBURN Phone: 905-845-3824, ext. 248 Fax: 905-337-5567 e-mail: angela@oakvillebeaver.com DANIEL HO / SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER FIRST RATE: Oakville IODE member Shirley Kilburn sorts clothes in the basement of the IODE Opportunity Shop located at Rebecca and Kerr streets. The shop's basement is where volunteers sort, press and catalogue merchandise that is donated before it makes it way upstairs for sale. The shop has been the chapter's main source of revenue for all of its 75 years. Nothing second hand about IODE's business By Angela Blackburn OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF Forever young -- such are the members of the Oakville Angela Bruce IODE Chapter. What's old is new again -- that is the work they do. While many are discovering recycling, which has led to an upsurge in second-hand use, the local IODE has been doing both for years. It's old hat for the women who began collecting scrap metal for the war effort -- and wore fancy hats at parties celebrating the brighter side of life. Though the local IODE may be turning 75, its members are still having fun running the IODE Opportunity Shop on Kerr Street. Over the years -- and its many locations -- the second-hand shop, thanks to the IODE volunteers who work there, has dressed students for job interviews, the needy who could use a break and the more affluent looking for a bargain. The proceeds have gone back into the community. In 2007, $53,810 was returned to the community. The local IODE chapter got into the recycling business early -- when it was founded on May 14, 1933. "I stay with it because I believe in it. Working in the shop is fun. People always go out so pleased." Wendy Tyre, IODE member The women's group was originally born to bolster efforts during war time. It was a chapter of the International Order of Daughters of the Empire (IODE). Over time, its focus shifted to community-based endeavours -- and its name retained only its letters: IODE. Its older members are still very active -- they all put in volunteer time working in the shop -- and the group has won awards, provincially and nationally, for attracting new, younger members. "I stay with it because I believe in it," said Wendy Tyre, who walks with two canes, volunteers in the shop and has been an IODE member 55 years. "Working in the shop is fun. People always go out so pleased, they're smiling and thinking that `For $10 or $15, I got all this,'" said Tyre. Tyre remembers being in high school when she won an IODE prize for Canadian history. She submitted a long list of books that interested her so her prize, a book, might be bestowed on her -- and the local IODE bought all the books on her list. Tyre recalls a young student for whom the IODE bought a warm coat. The student's mom joined the group. Another local boy, the son of a widow, was put through medical school by the local chapter, said Tyre. Though they may have started collecting scrap metal for the war effort, they have excelled at giving those who need it, a hand up in life. Along the way, they've had fun. In the early days, they wore fancy See Local page 18