‘We just need South Main to thrive again’: Shop provides camaraderie through free sewing classes

By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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ROCKFORD — The vintage feel of Collettia Berryhill’s new south-side shop harkens back to the heydays on South Main Street.

Berryhill, whose friends call her Cleta, ran Ruben’s Pharmacy with her brother Ruben Samuel Jr. for 42 years until his death in May 2019. She remembers the bustling foot traffic, Black-owned clubs and businesses that made the south side thrive decades ago.

Now, she’s trying to keep a piece of the community’s culture alive with a new shop and charity she’s operating out of the former pharmacy at 1029 S. Main St. It’s called Cleta’s Stay and Sew, and Berryhill offers free sewing classes to anyone who wants to learn. She also makes and sells vibrant ethnic and Afrocentric clothing and other merchandise to help fund the charity.

“There’s a lot of history here and a lot of love here. We just need South Main to thrive again,” Berryhill said. “When we first came down here in the ’70s, it was so busy and so much traffic and so many businesses that were open. We just had a good time, and I want to bring that good time back.”

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Cleta’s Stay and Sew marked its grand opening on Saturday, and Berryhill hopes the shop will be filled with seniors in need of camaraderie and kids and students who want to learn a new skill. The 69-year-old retiree is operating on a shoestring budget, but still wants to provide the service completely free to anyone who needs it.

“As long as I’ve been here we’ve served people, for the last 42 years,” she said. “If Jesus can serve people and he’s the son of God, I can serve people. God has been so good to me, I’m just going to return it.”

Berryhill’s efforts are funded in two ways: Through donations she receives and by selling her handmade merchandise. She’s also had help from friends and family, who have donated materials and offered other assistance with the charity.

“I tried to get help, financial help, and I kept running into brick walls. No one would help me with my vision,” she said. “So I just said, ‘OK Lord, I’ve got to do this myself with your help.’ That’s what I did. I just walked out on faith.”

Berryhill has been quilting since she was 8. She was inspired to start her own charity work by Black Girls Sew, a Brooklyn-based nonprofit that she saw on Good Morning America this summer.

“It just hit me: I could do that,” she said. “I could teach these young girls about sewing and about quilting and, almost like, a dying craft in our community.”

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She said her family had instilled in her a deep appreciation for her culture, which inspired her to make the Afrocentric clothing that lines he walls of the former pharmacy.

“I just wanted people to connect with a positive feeling of being Black and brown,” she said. “We have such a colorful heritage, and we have so much to offer.”

The shop still very much resembles the former pharmacy. When you walk in you’ll see the vintage soda fountain, cabinets and bar stools, which Berryhill has reupholstered with colorful patterns reminiscent of the clothing she makes.

She said people have offered to buy some of the vintage furnishings, but she’s declined.

“This is part of us, so nothing like that is for sale,” she said.

The south side has had some positive momentum of late. Urban Equity Properties is transforming an old industrial property at 700 S. Main St. into the Water Power Lofts. Further north is the 13-story Embassy Suites by Hilton Rockford Riverfront Hotel and another Urban Equity development at 301 S. Main St. There’s also the redevelopment of the hulking Barber-Colman complex, which has long been vacant and deteriorating, into nearly 1,000 living spaces.

But Berryhill said many of those new lofts will be too expensive for current south-side residents.

“For poor folks, like me, we need something other than that,” she said. “For the people in the community that are still in the community: They’re welcome to come here and just hang out, sew, listen to music and just learn things from one another.”

She hopes her work can do a small part to lift up the south side.

“The south side is about camaraderie and love and giving and being there for one another,” she said. “I want this to be a happy learning space, and a happy safe space for everybody.”

Cleta’s Stay and Sew | Fast Facts

Where: 1029 S. Main St., Rockford

On the web: Follow Cleta’s Stay and Sew on Facebook

Contact: cletasstayandsew@gmail.com or cleta131@hotmail.com

Hours: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday for sewing classes; 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. for the shop.

How to sign up for classes: You can register for classes in a sign-up book in the shop or email Berryhill at the address above.

How to help: Cleta’s Stay and Sew offers its services free of charge, but donations are needed to keep the operation afloat. You can make a donation in person at the shop or via CashApp to $Collettia or via Zelle to Collettia Berryhill or personal check.

This article is by Kevin Haas. Email him at khaas@rockrivercurrent.com or follow him on Twitter at @KevinMHaas or Instagram @thekevinhaas.