Annual rummage sale delights shoppers

Sondra Spencer walked among tables piled with home goods, clothing, glassware, holiday decorations, electronics and toys Saturday morning in Jefferson City, using a magic marker to mark down prices on their tags.

About three hours into the annual Central Church Rummage Sale, the products available had diminished, but Spencer was determined that "everything must go."

"I just kinda wander around, and if it seems like it's not selling for whatever reason -- maybe we had it a little bit too high -- I mark it down a little," Spencer said and pointed out a brand-new-with-tag wine carrier. "We had it at $3 and I marked it down to $2."

The point, she said, is to provide quality stuff to folks at the lowest price the church can do.

"But we want it to go away so we don't have to haul it off," she said. "We end up donating a lot of stuff at the end."

Depending on what was left at the end of the day, there was a plan to donate it to an appropriate charitable organization. For example, the wine carrier might go to Calvary's Gift, shoes would go to People Helping Paws, men's dress clothing to The Redeem Project and women's clothing and jewelry to Dreams to Reality. Other recipients of leftovers include Butterfly Hospice and Habitat for Humanity.

"We try to pass it along to people who can use it," Spencer said.

Sara Lane-Stokes studied products on tables carefully. She looked closely at clothing items on long racks, explaining she is a re-seller. She sells items she finds online at eBay, Poshmark and Depop for her family's business Iris's Closet -- Vintage Fashion & Timeless Trinkets.

While she was shopping for re-sellable items, she was also shopping for items for her children, Lane-Stokes said.

"There are some treasures," she said. "I like to find vintage stuff. I found several things."

She said she has an eye for items that other people will take interest in. She's attended the annual sale a couple of years.

"I've always loved finding things secondhand. It's way cheaper," Lane-Stokes said.

Church members began dropping off items for the sale on Monday, according to Carole Spencer, a sister of Sondra Spencer. The sisters coordinate the sale.

As items arrived, volunteers displayed them on tables, Carole Spencer said. The most challenging part, she added, was sorting clothing by size and displaying it on racks and tables.

The sale has been going on for about 34 years, she said. It raises money for women's fellowship at the church.

Carole Spencer said there were close to 3,000 items donated to the sale.

She added that 30 people were lined up at the door at 7 a.m. Saturday, when it opened.

As he walked between rows of tables, with new sheets tucked under one arm, David Kohler examined items he passed. He had donated items for the sale earlier in the week, and said he was limited in how much he could purchase at the sale.

"I try to make a pact that I don't take out more stuff than I bring in," he said. "My wife and I say that's the rule."

The rules can be worked around, he added. Kohler set aside a lamp to buy. But that's for work, he explained, so it doesn't count against the rule.

He said he and his wife dropped off a large plastic doghouse early last week -- and a large collection of clothing. Some years, it's been an SUV-load of items.

"Everything is always priced, basically to get rid of it," he said. "It's a tremendous amount of work for the folks who organize it and put it on. But it's such an amazing benefit."

He said he's surprised by the volume of clothing that finds new homes.

A lot of the items "boomerangs," he said -- gets sold one year and returns the next.

For instance, he found a 1970s-era portable emergency CB radio, intended for drivers to keep in the trunks of their cars. It was offered from JC Penney, he said.

"It's the cheesiest thing you've ever seen. But it's cool," Kohler said. "I don't need it, but for 50 cents, I've got to have it."

Another church member told him she bought it for her son last year and returned it this year.

"He's like, 'No, mom,'" Kohler said. "She brought it back and I thought, 'Oh, I've got to take it home.'"

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