SALE DRAWS A CROWD

Some 300 people rushed the doors of the Osage Community Centre at 8 a.m. Saturday at the opening of the city's Summer Garage Sale.

Henry Davis of Jackson was one of about 300 people standing in front of the Osage Community Centre Saturday morning waiting for the doors to open at 8 a.m. Some looked anxious for the city's Summer Garage Sale to begin, but Davis was leaning nonchalantly against a pillar.

"I'm the driver," he said, explaining his presence and motioning toward his wife, Lucille, and her twin sister, Louise McCain of Dexter.

Lucille was preparing to search the tables for a dish drain and a glass baking dish, Louise for jewelry.

Lucille goes to many garage sales but says, "This is about the best one I ever went to."

Sixty-eight booths operated at the sale, occupying most of the center's main floor and a meeting room. The first sale was made less than a minute after the doors opened.

Among the goodies: an Elvis paperweight, all manner of cosmetics, an album of Tennessee Ernie Ford hymns for $1, fishing poles, a junior golf bag, original ads for classic cars and soft drinks, Beanie Babies, boxing gloves, yard tools, a typewriter, baseball cards and Coca-Cola artifacts.

One man was selling toys his grandson had outgrown.

Jean Eaker of Cape Girardeau was selling things she herself had bought at yard sales. Some of the items belonged to her mother-in-law, who passed away recently.

It seemed a common theme. Janet Hudson came from Searcy, Ark. to sell items cleared out of her father's house after his death last year. She displayed pictures of a piano and a sewing machine for sale.

One woman was selling a sandwich maker she and her husband received as a wedding gift a number of years ago.

An elderly woman was offering complete sets of McDonald's toys she accumulated at yard sales, not at the restaurant.

"You'd have to eat the food," she whispered.

She said the baggies full of toys were "just a drop in the bucket" of her collection. She also has more than 1,000 Barbie dolls. She didn't want to be identified because she's afraid somebody might try to get them.

She saw a Hallmark Barbie doll at the sale she doesn't have but didn't know if she'd get it. "I don't have any room," she said.

Besides clearing out basements, attics and closets, the sale is a way for non-profit organizations to make money. Among those doing so was the SEMO Deaf Association and the American Red Cross. Staffer Kathy Oberbeck said many people donate clothing for the Red Cross's use. Instead of storing the clothing, the Red Cross sells it and puts the money into its programs.

The Summer Garage Sale was one of four sponsored by the city's Parks and Recreation Department during the year.

Amy Roth, a recreation programmer in charge of the sale for the city, decided to participate fully by teaming with Parks and Recreation supervisor Penny Blandford in their own booth. They knew they were green at this business.

One woman bought canisters from them for 50 cents and later was selling the canisters at her own booth for $3.

At least nobody was haggling over their prices. "Not ours," Blandford said. "We're too cheap."

Dorothy Wolfe came from Chaffee to hunt for clothing and household items. She's a frequenter of garage sales, too. Asked what she does with the items she gets, she said many wind up in her attic. "Or I have garage sales."