NOTE: “Today” and “tonight” refer to Friday, Aug. 30.
PORT ANGELES — The Clallam County Historical Society will open the doors today to the former Lincoln School for a garage sale so big it is organized like a department store.
The 19th Clallam County Historical Society garage sale is set from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. today and Saturday at the historical brick school located at the corner of Eighth and C streets.
It will continue next weekend, with half-price day from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sept. 6 and a special sale Saturday, Sept. 7, when remaining items will be sold for a “buck a bag.”
Like a department store
Garage sale enthusiasts and curious wanderers can dive into a vast array of items, including tools, clothing, books, household items, furniture, crafts and collectibles.
Each type of item has its own department within the old classrooms and hallways.
“We have a lot of really nice collectibles this year,” said Kathy Monds, executive director of the historical society.
Many of the items are Asian in origin or style, Monds said.
She added that the society experienced an unexpected flurry of donations of chairs and rolling pins.
Lots of donations
There were so many donations this year that the many boxes of items had to be stored upstairs and will be moved to the sale floor as shelf space becomes available, so there will be something new each day, she said.
The giant sale is the historical society’s biggest annual fundraiser.
It helps fund the Museum at the Carnegie and other historical society operations as well as restoration of the old school site.
The 1916 brick schoolhouse that will house the sale is also a primary recipient of the money raised, but this year, the historical society’s research library also will be a beneficiary, Monds said.
The library, located in a building behind the school, will be expanded and improved, she said.
Memberships can be purchased at the event. They are $35 for families, $30 for individuals, $25 for senior citizens and $10 for youths.
Renovation efforts
The sale provides visitors an annual look at the progression of renovation efforts at the former Lincoln School, which was purchased by the historical society in 1991 at a cost of $210,000 and which will house the Clallam County Museum and Resource Center.
Proceeds from this year’s sale will go toward the renovation of the research library, Monds said.
In a recent incident, a large multi-paned, wood-framed window fell from the second floor of the school building, but miraculously, none of the windows, nor the wooden frame, was broken, Monds said.
“I was stunned,” she said.
Monds said the window will be cleaned and reinstalled.
Eventually, the windows will be replaced, she said.
Members and volunteers who worked at least 10 hours in preparation for the sale were allowed to purchase items during a members-only sale Thursday in any department except collectibles.
The collectibles department remained off-limits until the public sale begins, according to historical society rules.
Every year, a handful of museum-quality items with connections to Clallam County history are donated for the sale and are added into the museum collection.
Membership applications can be picked up at the society’s administration office at the Lincoln School site or at www.clallamhistoricalsociety.com.
For more information about the garage sale, phone the historical society’s office at 360-452-2662 or email artifact@olypen.com.
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Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5070, or at arwyn.rice@peninsuladailynews.com.
