Bob's Bargain Barn, Inc.

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Bob's Bargain Barn, Inc. Used furniture and beds, local delivery. Very reasonable prices. Clean used furniture and house hold items. Reconditioned beds and new bed frames.

10/11/2026

Page 17
By the time all of this took place, the Bradenton Herald showed up to do a story about our break-in. They took pictures of the store before we started cleaning. Also by this time our employees showed up.
Dad took charge of the furniture and mom and I started up front. Every piece of furniture was taken out back and swept out then vacuumed out. Mom and I started vacuuming the store. We got the floor done, then the real work started. We had to clean every shelf and every single piece of glassware. This took all week. We opened by noon the day of the robbery. Our customers were the best. Some of them volunteered to help with the cleaning, others brought us donations to help out with our losses. We lost over $3000.00 in merchandise and it took an additional $1000 in payroll to get things in order. That might not sound like a lot right now, but this was 35 years ago....
The police could not come up with any finger prints. They interviewed everyone at the store. They told us if we found anything of evidence to let them know.
We were the best detectives. We noticed that the Pepsi machine wasn't forced open. Someone had used the key on it. The key hung up by the register with about 40 other keys we had to things. The bathroom window was broken for them to get in. It had to be someone small to get through that window. We had 4 employees at that time.
The first thing dad did after the police left was call an alarm company. They came in and set us up the next day. It was 2 days before Thanksgiving. It was dads birthday.
Dad went to the auction that night. When he got done, he went to one of our employees home. He talked with the kids mother and told her what had happened. He also told her that if the stolen furniture was returned he would not press charges. Then he went to the other employees home and talk to the him. After several minutes the kid confessed to the robbery. These 2 employees were 17 years old. He told him to bring the furniture back the next day and he wouldn't press charges.
They brought back our furniture, it was not in very good shape because they had moved it so fast. We only got back one of the huge vases that was taken, the other one broke. Dad had the police come to the store to talk with these kids. He did not press charges. He fired them on the spot, and had the police es**rt them off the property and told them they were banned from ever coming on the property again.
Can you imaging the gall it took to rob us then come to work the next day and help us clean up the mess? Thank goodness we still had 2 other employees to help us. It was very upsetting to us all that this could happen to us. You live and learn. You move forward.
I'll tell you more employee stories tomorrow, I have to go watch football!

10/11/2026

Page 16
One of the most challenging area of business is employees. We had over the 43 years the good, the bad and the ugly. We helped many people go on to bigger and better jobs. We hired felons when no one else would. We had several people steal from us, threaten us, and just leave us in the middle of a clean out. Here are a few stories to entertain you.
We'll start with the good. Many of you know J.P. He was by far the best employee anyone could ever have. He knew how to fix anything. He would give you the shirt off his back if you needed it. He was the best humored person you could ever deal with. He was always calm, kind and funny. I just loved to hear him laugh.
J.P. helped me with customers, other employees and some of the shadier customers that came in. One time I had a man come in that was definitely on some kind of drug and quite out of his mind. I picked up my walkie talkie and only said "J.P." over the mike and by my tone he knew something was wrong and was by my side in seconds.
Late one morning, a young man with a backpack came in. He looked school age, so I knew something was wrong. I asked if I could help him. He said he wanted me to call the police. He wouldn't tell me what for. I called J.P. in to talk with him. He came up front and sat down beside him. I made myself scarce so they could talk. After about 15 min, J.P. said he needed my truck to take him to the local police station. The young man had been beaten by his father. J.P. took him and stayed with him until they took charge of the young man. I was so very grateful for his patients. I was glad he came to us for help. We don't know what ever became of him. He was about 16 years old at the time.
I can't thank him enough for his years with us. Mom and dad wanted to adopt him they loved him so much.
One morning I came to work, and like always I drove around the store to make sure everything was okay before I went in. When I got around back the big overhead door was open several feet. I thought mom had come in early, so I parked and came in. I didn't see her car but thought I must have missed it looking at something else. When I opened the front door, I just stopped in my tracks. there was broken glass everywhere and papers all over the floor. There were broken lamps and the Pepsi machine was open. The whole store was a disaster. I looked over the store. There were huge Chinese vases missing, a huge bedroom set was missing and there was some kind of white powder covering everything. The cash registers were open, and drawer we kept receipts in was open and emptied all over the floor.
I called mom and dad and they told me to call the police. I called them and waited and waited. I called mom and dad again and they told me to call the police again and that they were on their way to the store.
A few minutes later the police showed up. They very carefully looked around and then they called the fire department. The white powder all over the store was from our fire extinguishers. The robbers had sprayed, literally everything and every inch of our store. The police told me we shouldn't be in the store breathing the air.
The fire department came and set up 2 huge fans, one at the front door and one at the back door to vent the store so we could start cleaning. I better start another page... stay tuned...

I remembered my phone this morning!
10/05/2026

I remembered my phone this morning!

Did you see the sunrise? I forgot my phone on my walk this morning, it was awesome! This was 20 min later.
10/04/2026

Did you see the sunrise? I forgot my phone on my walk this morning, it was awesome! This was 20 min later.

Yesterday and today’s walk.
09/29/2026

Yesterday and today’s walk.

09/21/2026

Page 15
Do you remember hurricane Andrew? I sure do. The day it was moving toward Miami, I went to the store. I opened. It was already cloudy and windy with bouts of rain. Mom asked me to stay open till noon. I spent the time washing all the glasses on the shelves. I don't think I ever had a customer. The storm was huge. It's affects covered the state well before it made landfall. We were lucky.
The days and weeks after the storm were to say the least, remarkable. I'd like to tell you the stories we heard over that time period. The human race is and can be the most giving and loving people. I know for the most part it brings out the best of most of us.
Just days after the storm, people started coming to our store to buy things to send to the people of Homestead. Blankets, towels, dishes, pots and pans, sheets, pillows, tools, flashlights, oil lamps, and so much more. We were buying and putting things out as fast as we could.
We had one couple come in that had packed their car to take down there. They were going to go and donate everything in their car and donate the car to someone who needed it.
We had hot dog venders buying large plastic storage bins to take as much food down there as they could pack to feed people, for free.
We had several families arrive in Bradenton, that had nothing but the clothes on their backs and their car. We helped them furnish apartments.
On week 2, people started pulling in with trucks and trailers to buy as much as they could fit, to take to the people in Homestead.
On week 3 we had no less than 10 offers to buy our delivery trucks. You couldn't rent a U-haul or find one anywhere near us, they were all on their way to Homestead, mostly full of supplies people had donated to those in need.
We had a family from Trinidad that had lost everything from the storm. They were brought here by relatives to try and start their lives over again here in Bradenton.
One family told us they had survived by hunkering down in the tub. When the storm was over, all that was left of the house was 3 walls of the bathroom. Everything was gone. They had each other, that was it, that was enough. They were staying in Bradenton until they could get moved to Georgia.
It was wonderful to see people helping people. That's when we realize what "we the people" can do when we put our minds to it.
That's what Love can do for all of us. That was my moms favorite saying. "LOVE LOVE LOVE". she said that all the time. She lived it.
She passed it on to me. I do my best. I sure miss you guys!

09/17/2026

Page 14
When I was 18, I worked as the night auditor for the Best Western in Venice. It was a very interesting job. I got to meet all kinds of people. I checked in late arrivals, balanced the books for the day and kept a pot of coffee on incase a police officer stopped by to check on things.
I helped the management find out who was steeling from the hotel by going over daily cash register tapes. It took us almost a whole night but I finally found an anomaly. Then we all had to take lie detector tests. That was pretty cool. But we found our man. I don't know what ever happened to him after that. I didn't work there but for about a year. As part of my pay, I was given a room to live in.
One night I received a very disturbing call. It was an obscene phone call. I hung up very quickly. About a week later the same man called again. That night one of the officers came in for coffee, I told him about it. He filled out a report and told me to call the operator after the next call to see if we could get the number he was calling on.
This went on for about a month. The calls were coming in more and more often. Then this man said he was watching me in the lobby. The police came right over but were not able to find him in the parking lot. They told me he would eventually come into the hotel to talk to me. This was more than disturbing to me. This was before cell phones and cameras. So, the police told me they would have an unmarked car in the parking lot during my shift. They took this very seriously. I was very grateful for their presence. I had a stalker.
We figured out a way for me to signal them if this person came in. The lobby entrance was all glass windows so they could see me at a distance. I would reach up as to fix my hair and they would come in.
He came in about 3am on a Thursday. Walked right up to the counter. Not knowing who he was, I asked if he was checking in. Then he started saying the same stuff to me he was saying on the phone. I reached up to fix my hair. The response was so fast it startled me. 3 officers came running in. They grabbed him and took him outside. Then one of them came in to ask me if I was sure it was the same guy as on the phone. I told them without a doubt it was the same person. I knew the voice.
After they took him away, one of the officers came back to get a statement from me and told me he wasn't going quietly so they had to subdue him. I didn't ask any details but I'm guessing they beat him up a bit. I never had to go to court, just make a statement to the police and a lawyer. He was convicted and sent to jail. I decided to go work somewhere else before he was released. I didn't want to be in that situation ever again. It took me a long time to get over that. I kept watching over my shoulder, not wanting to answer the phone, didn't want to be alone anywhere.
Everything you go through, good or bad, makes you stronger. It's amazing what you find out about yourself when your back is up against a wall. Over the years I was able to help several women to get out of similar circumstances or get in touch with the right authorities if they were victims of domestic violence. It's not that hard to tell the symptoms if you know what to look for.

This weeks photos. Enjoy 😎
09/14/2026

This weeks photos. Enjoy 😎

09/07/2026

After we move and get settled, what would be a good job for me to look for?
Any ideas?

09/06/2026

Sorry I haven't been writing much. We have had quite a few showings on the house and it's keeping us busy.

Address

6016 15th Street E
Bradenton, FL
34203

Telephone

+19417583866

Website

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