“I’m honored people would even buy them, I guess,” he said, settling on the word “humbled” as a good descriptor of his feelings.

But since it’s for a good cause, he could learn to get over the feeling of his trademark silhouette–an unbuttoned blue plaid flannel shirt wavering over unassuming blue jeans–being on everyone’s chest all over town.

The t-shirt’s back reads “Make Manson Great Again.”

The new t-shirts created by Ashley Sturgis, with over 30 sold at last count, donated $15 a piece to the effort to revive the town’s now-closed grocery store.

And as the town continues its fight to bring back the most basic of institutions, they’re looking to bring in every dollar they can to make Manson at least a place where groceries can be bought again. The town’s last store closed in November.

“There’s definitely something missing on Main Street that we need to get back,” Sturgis said. “Manson does feel different (without the grocery store.)”

After moving back to her hometown from Sioux City, she wanted to do her part to help. Turns out, doing her part–making designs that sell–was the thing she had been doing for 30 years.

With $185,000 raised so far, Anderson said the town is only $15,000 shy of its goal. By early March, the effort had gathered $170,000.

“We’re willing to take more, we don’t have to stop there,” he reminds donors. “That’s our bottom number.”

That $200,000 budget has very little wiggle room as the board works through the process of legalities in acquiring the building and fixing it up. The mayor estimated that fundraising will continue through the rest of the year.

Roofing repairs, cement repairs, door openers, equipment repairs and a new point-of-sale system are just a few items on the long list that need to be addressed to get the joint back up to speed. Rough blueprints reveal that plans are in place to strip flooring, rearrange shelving and paint the store to give it a whole new look.

Though the grocery’s board initially aimed to be open in the last quarter of this year, difficulties posed by COVID-19 have delayed the efforts. Still, he said the store could feasibly be opened around the start of the new year.

In a way, Anderson said the coronavirus has helped locals realize just how much they appreciate having a local store. Even though the fundraising has taken time, he said there’s still no doubt that the local buy-in is there.

“People will support a store that’s run properly,” he said. “A well-run, hometown grocery store will find its niche very easily.”

Manson soon hopes to add the grocery store to its respectable array of other retail, business and restaurant establishments.

The new store continues in its plans to be a non-profit model to leave the possibility of applying for grants open.

If you’d like to contribute to the effort to make grocery shopping a reality again in Manson, checks payable to Manson Grocery can be dropped off at either bank in Manson:

• Heartland Bank, 1314 First Ave.

• Manson State Bank, 1001 Main St.

Donations of any amount are welcomed. All donations, kept confidential, will be held in a pass-through bank account until Manson Grocery reaches its goal. Once the goal of $200,000 has been reached, Manson Grocery’s Board of Directors will deposit checks into a new account under an agreed-upon store name.