PORT ANGELES — This evening’s sneak preview of a giant garage sale should be one of the town’s big social events, said Dona Cloud, Kathy Monds and their army of volunteers.
It’s the Clallam County Historical Society’s annual sale at the old Lincoln School, that brick edifice at Eighth and C streets, where shoppers can plan on an abundance of goods.
The preview from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. today is open only to those who belong to the historical society, including longtime and newly minted members, said Monds, executive director.
Shoppers can purchase memberships at the door; adults pay $30, seniors 62 and up pay $25 and family memberships are $35.
“The members-only night is quite a hoot. Some of us get dressed up” in vintage dresses, Monds added. Last year, she and Cloud sparkled in sequined gowns, but Monds was cagey about their wardrobe plans for tonight.
Once the preview’s done, the sale will open to the public both Friday and Saturday, and “there will be a line out the door Friday morning,” predicted Cloud, a volunteer research librarian. Then, Friday, Sept. 10 is half-price day and Saturday, Sept. 11, is buck-a-bag day. On all four of those days, the sale is open from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Among the items filling the school: red long johns and white fur coats; coffeemakers, picture frames and vacuum cleaners; jewelry, shoes, purses and, Cloud said, “lots of lovely hats.”
The menswear and other merchandise that appeals to guys are in the front of the building, so men don’t have to wade through the women’s clothing and accessories, she added.
The sale is divided into many other sections, including “craft heaven,” a kitchen department full of cookbooks and dishes, and a high wall of books.
Among the highlights this year is a collection of humor books, art books, favorite novels and more from the estate of June Robinson.
The local historian and indefatigable school volunteer, who lived in Sequim, died in May 2009 at the age of 83.
Among many other subjects, she loved teddy bears, and several of her books about them are in the sale.
Like Robinson’s library, everything inside the old school was donated by community members, Monds said.
“I think it’s absolutely incredible that people are so generous,” she said.
This is the 16th society sale, and Monds noted that proceeds have steadily grown: in 1992 the event raised $5,000, and in 2009, the total rose to $28,000.
The sale means bargains for shoppers, of course, as well as benefits for the historical society, which hopes to restore the Lincoln School and turn it into a research library and museum.
“It’s the ultimate recycling,” Monds said.
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Features Editor Diane Urbani de la Paz can be reached at 360-417-3550 or at diane.urbani@ peninsuladailynews.com.
