By Kelley Kepler
Catholic Herald
Back to school gear at Catholic Customs
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Pete and Charlene Moser own Catholic Customs, a religious goods store in Duluth, Minn., that sells school uniforms, school supplies, Catholic books and other religious items. (Catholic Herald photo by Kelley Kepler) |
DULUTH, Minn. -- Anyone who may be visiting Duluth, Minn., and is looking to purchase new Catholic school uniforms or some last minute school supplies might enjoy a visit to Catholic Customs.
Located in West Duluth, Catholic Customs is a family owned and operated business that carries Catholic books and Bibles for all ages, educational CDs and videos, school supplies and uniforms and other religious goods.
The store sells backpacks that say "Jesus First," bumper stickers that read "Bring prayer back to school" and religious sports medals. To help recover school uniforms if students lose them, the store sells garment identification tags.
There is also a selection of Catholic puzzles and variations of popular games such as Bible Scategories and Catholic-opoly, a spinoff of Monopoly, except that the goal is not to accumulate wealth, but to build churches and cathedrals and spread God's word. Another popular seller is the Catholic flash cards, with 50 questions that parents can use to quiz their children.
Store owners Pete and Charlene Moser say many of their customers visit the store to buy Catholic school uniforms for their children. These uniforms, which the Mosers purchase from Donald's in St. Paul, Minn., can be worn at any Catholic school in Wisconsin and Minnesota.
Parents can bring their children to the store and have them try the uniforms on for size before placing an order that they can usually receive in less than a week.
Charlene estimated half of the customers that purchase uniforms live in northern Wisconsin.
The Mosers belong to St. James Parish in West Duluth and have been especially active in their faith since their six children began attending Catholic school at St. James. Four of their children are currently enrolled there.
The family recently celebrated Catholic Customs' one year anniversary on Aug. 5.
The couple was tired of hearing people complain that there were no Catholic books stores around, and they wanted to do something about it. "We really saw a need in the area" to open the store, said Pete.
Charlene said they originally wanted to set up a bookstore in their basement to ensure that there would be a better selection of books for Catholic children in the area. After going to business school to find out how to make this dream a reality, the Mosers happened to come across a store for sale that would make a perfect location for their business, and it took off from there.
Pete said one of their priorities is to work with the Catholic schools. "We support the schools and their mission," he said.
The Mosers travel to nearby Catholic schools, including Cathedral School, in Superior, to hold fund-raising book fairs during parent-teacher conferences.
Editor's Note: Catholic Custom's phone number is 218-624-7701. The store has extended its August business hours to 9 a.m. - 8 p.m. on Mondays through Thursdays, 10 a.m. - 4. p.m. on Fridays and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturdays.
© Superior Catholic Herald, 2003