Greg Valentine Sr. talks about his work and his music in the donation area of Su-Z-Q's Thrift Store in John Day on Monday, Oct. 17, 2022.

If you’ve ever been inside Sue-Z-Q’s Thrift Store in John Day, chances are you’ve chatted with Greg Valentine Sr. For the past 12 years, since he first moved to the area from Baker City, Valentine has worked part-time at the charity, and he likes to post up with a view of the entrance so he can greet shoppers while he works.

“I do all kinds of different stuff,” Valentine said as he relaxed on a cozy floral couch in the sunny donation area in front of the store. “I break boxes. I price clothes once in a while. I usually hang up and put clothes away most of the time.”

And when it comes to hanging clothes, Valentine is a machine. His hands work quickly to pluck tops out of a basket, plunge hangers into collars and spin the garments around to face them properly, finishing with a quick flick to get them to lie just so. Donations come in fast at Su-Z-Q’s, and the sales are brisk, so he has to work quickly to keep the stock moving. “They price it and I put it away, every day.”

Before moving to Canyon City to take this job, which his niece pointed out to him, Valentine used to live in Baker City. There he worked as a dishwasher at a pair of busy truck stops, first at Sumpter Junction from 1989-99 and later at the Truck Corral. They were 24-hour joints, although he didn’t like to work graveyards much.

He also loves music. He gigged six nights a week at local nightclubs around Baker City, although he’d leave his drums at The Stirrup Room, his most regular gig. He played drums for rock bands, country bands, you name it. “I can really catch on real quick. I got a great ear for music,” he said. “Yeah, I got a real good gift.”

He adds that he likes to play loud, but he can’t do heavy metal: “I’m too old for that now.”

He has played since he got his first set at age 17, and he’s recently upgraded the drum kit that he keeps in the bedroom of his Canyon City apartment. He’s added new cymbals and now has double bass pedals. “I have a CD player that I can put five discs in,” he said. “I just sit on the drums and wait for it to start. I turn the music up to 60 so I can hear it, and when one (disc) quits it goes to the next one.”

He claims his upstairs neighbors have no complaints, although we were not able to independently verify this by press time.

“I had a heart attack in 2003,” he said. “And then I had that fixed and I went in 2012 and got new arteries put in. They must have did it right or I wouldn’t be sitting here.” The drums and the work keep Valentine busy, and together with regular walks he stays healthy.

He shows off his fancy new kicks, a pair of high-tech Nike shoes with shock absorbers built into the soles. “I bought these here for 20 bucks!”

Five days a week, Valentine is on his feet, busy keeping the production line moving and the clothes racks stocked. He likes chatting to anyone who walks in the door. “But they don’t like me talking to the customers for very long,” he clarifies. “I gotta stay busy! That’s part of the game.”

NAME Greg Valentine Sr. 

AGE: 70

RESIDENCE: Canyon City

OCCUPATION: Thrift store attendant

ETC.: Plays the drums, but he can’t do heavy metal: “I’m too old for that now,” he says.