News

Nov 17, 2023

History Center's big garage sale is Friday and Saturday in Bloomington

A sandstone belt buckle embedded with an egg-sized Imperial jasper stone.

A sandstone belt buckle embedded with an egg-sized Imperial jasper stone. Hand-sewn Barbie doll clothes. Bejeweled hat pins, six of them. A dark blue Samsonite overnight train case from the 1950s. A vivid Susan Roth fabric collage.

A 70-year-old movie poster promoting Ernest Hemingway's "The Snows of Kilamanjaro" with Gregory Peck, Susan Hayward and Ava Gardner. China dishware from Royal Doulton, some from the rare "Monks in the Cellar" series.

Solid hickory rocking chairs state prison inmates made decades ago.

These are the kinds of things people donate to be sold at the Monroe County History Center Garage Sale. These are the kinds of things you can buy at the event this Friday and Saturday.

The sale, sometimes called an "extravaganza," is at 4015 W. Profile Parkway on Bloomington's west side. Hours are 8 a.m. until 4:30 p.m.

Busy weekend in Bloomington:Strawberry Shortcake Fest, Granfalloon, Handmade Market

As always, an eclectic collection of cast-aside possessions owners and heirs brought for the sale awaits. The 33,000-square-foot warehouse contains interesting items from the past, original works of art, antique furniture, household items and much more than can be named.

Ever heard of Michael Aram? Two silver bowls he designed may catch your eye and tempt your wallet. You never know what you might encounter. Last year, there were two armadillo purses; this year, none.

The event, in its fifth decade, brings in more than $100,000 for the non-profit local history museum.

This year, every purchase will cost more — 7% more — because of a just-passed law that requires non-profit sales at events such as this that raise more than $20,000 to collect state sales tax.

Garage sale organizers aren't happy about the change, since it will increase costs and mean longer lines as volunteer cashiers figure how much tax each customer owes.

Still, where else can you find a framed 1960s crewel embroidery of a big fish, minnows and a crawdad for $4? Or a 1972 poster that maps the Land of Narnia for just a buck? How about a pair of rhinestone shoe clips? A giant framed photo someone took at Mount Rushmore at its completion in 1941?

Volunteers who review items and assess their value often wonder about the history behind a painting, a delicate crocheted doily like grandma used to make, a century-old porcelain doll in a stained dress or that old movie poster, which was one of four someone dropped off.

Or the dozens of Precious Moments figurines, priced two for one.

And where did all of those those ceramic cats, clearly someone's treasured collection, come from?

Longtime garage sale orgaizer Kathy McFall said given the volume of donations and work put into preparing them for display, she and other volunteers can't take time to dwell on what came before they were sent to the sale.

But sometimes, there's a clue.

An 8-by-10-inch framed photograph of a old bicycle with a metal basket overflowing with grapes leans on the wall in the art section. A blue first-place ribbon from the Monroe County Fair is affixed to the frame. The entry tag on the back identifies the photgrapher of "Bicycle Landscape" as Randi Richardson. There's a Spencer phone number listed, but no year.

Randi, your award-winning shot is priced at $15.

There's a stark black-and-white photo of Peter the Great's Leningrad summer palace, professionally framed with a note on the back. It was purchased, "in Taskent, U.S.S.R, a gift to Dave from Janet."

That was in 1983. With the fall of the Soviet Union a few years later, Taskent became the capital of the now-independent nation of Uzbekistan.

But what about Dave and Janet, a reporter might ask. What took them to that part of the world 40 years ago? How did their lives progress? And how is it that this special gift landed at the history center garage sale with a $20 pricetag?

Contact Herald-Times reporter Laura Lane at [email protected] or 812-318-5967.