New cleaners owner keeps Sisters spruced up

Folks in Sisters were dismayed when they thought that their local drycleaners was going to close when the owners consolidated their operations to one site in Bend.

Then Susan Windell came to the rescue.

She’d been working at the cleaners since June of 2002 “just to have something to do.”

She found she enjoyed the work — especially the interaction with people and she just couldn’t let those relationships go.

So, as of February, she became the owner of Susan’s Cleaners.

“I was really pleased that everything worked out to keep it open,” she said. “There’s a real need for it.”

Susan doesn’t do any dry-cleaning on-site. That work is all contracted out to Central Oregon Drycleaners. Susan takes the orders and transports the clothes.

Sometimes she transports rugs and other household items, too.

“Some people even have sheets laundered by us,” she said.

Susan continues to provide a shirt service — laundering, pressing and starching — and she can even handle leather cleaning.

Windell has been living in Sisters for six years, but her family has been visiting Sisters for 20 years. She and her husband retired here and he died shortly thereafter.

Susan was two grown sons, one a golf instructor in Arizona and another in the U.S. Air Force.

The Air Force connection has led her to sponsor a Cell Phones for Soldiers program based out of the drycleaners.

She is collecting old cell phones, new phone calling cards, and cash contributions for the national program.

All proceeds from these contributions will go towards purchasing the phone calling cards.

Susan‘s Drycleaners is located in the Three Wind Shopping Center.

For more information call 549-9950.

Author Bio

Jim Cornelius, Editor in Chief

Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.

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