April 14, 2011
SEYMOUR -- A little piece of heaven can be found on Main Street.
St. Anthony's Book and Gift Shop in downtown Seymour has been catering to the needs of the Christian community for a dozen years.
Owner Kathy Conroy-Cass does more than run the cash register. She listens and offers a shoulder to cry on or someone to pray with.
"You have to be really empathetic -- you have to listen to people in this business," she said. Conroy-Cass opened the shop on Bank Street in December 1999, shortly after she had surgery for a herniated disc in her back.
A friend persuaded her to attend a healing Mass when she could barely walk, and that experience led her to open the store.
"There, I made a deal with God. If I could walk again, I said I would spread His word. And that's when I opened up St. Anthony's," she said.
The store, at 131 Main St., offers a large selection of greeting cards, books, jewelry and gifts for religious occasions.
"You can go anywhere to buy a Christmas gift. You can't go anywhere to buy a communion present," she said.
St. Anthony's patrons can personalize picture frames and shadow boxes as well as invitations for weddings, showers and baptisms.
Conroy-Cass, of Seymour, named the store St. Anthony's after her church in Ansonia.
"St. Anthony is the patron saint of the poor and of lost souls, and I'm both of the above," she said.
Nestled among antique stores, Conroy-Cass said she is one of the last ecumenical shops in the area not run by a church.
"The ones that are still hanging in there are run by churches because there is no overhead, no workman's compensation insurance, no sales tax. It's all volunteers," she said.
She opened a second store in Winsted, but closed it after two years. Conroy-Cass said she is having trouble recovering financially.
"You know, God won't give you anything you can't handle," she said. "I think He trusts me too much."
Warren Oko, 57, of Seymour, is one of Conroy-Cass' original customers. "She's always had a good variety of items not just for Catholics, but for all Christians," he said. "But not only that. She's always given her shoulder to her customers; she's a good listener."
Conroy-Cass often has customers for weddings, babies, baptisms and communions.
"But sometimes it's not a happy occasion. I'll have people come in to celebrate their first grandchild, then sometimes I have people come in because they've lost a child," she said.
Offering a selection of bereavement books and remembrance gifts for both adults and children, as well as cemetery candles, rosaries and statuaries, St. Anthony's is a one-stop shop for all things Christian.
"I really do pray for my customers," she said. "We all have our crosses to carry."
Read more: http://www.ctpost.com/default/article/St-Anthony-s-shop-began-as-deal-with-God-1337236.php#ixzz1JqQnWnzx
