Sculptor Hamilton Dixon and his wife, artist Carli Dixon, discovered the mounds of clothing, shoes and toys when they bought a trio of buildings on East Third Street. The couple envisioned an artist community, turning rundown urban spaces into studios, gardens and maybe even a theater. They did not anticipate the chaos inside 905 E. Third St., an 18,000-square-foot warehouse.
“It took us months just to try and get our arms around the situation and decide what to do,” Carli Dixon said. With the help of Miamisburg Christian Church, they’ve decided to donate the usable items to survivors of the earthquake in Haiti and to local families in need.
The mass of clothing is left over from a Hurricane Katrina relief effort nearly five years ago. By all accounts, some simply stories from passers-by on Third Street, and some evidence pieced together through court records and reports from those involved, the group that collected the donations was called River of Life Worship Center.
The group’s leader, Dan Ellis, who could not be reached for comment, rented the warehouse at the time and, according to civil court documents, was barred from the building before the goods were delivered to local refugees from the Gulf Coast. He was sued by the building’s owner in 2006 for failure to pay rent and was eventually evicted, but the clothing remained.
Fortunately for the Dixons, more than 60 youth group volunteers came to the rescue during the weekend to sort, pack and start distributing the tons of leftover clothes.