Opinion by Bonnie Henry : 50th rummage sale

Women of Junior League spend all year getting it ready

Opinion by Bonnie Henry

IF YOU GO

• What: Junior League of Tucson rummage sale.

• When: 7 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday.

• Where: Concourse of Hi Corbett Field at Reid Park, 3400 E. Camino Campestre. Entrance off South Country Club Road, south of Broadway.

• Cost: $1 or one can of food for the Community Food Bank.

• A preview sale and party will be held at the same location from 6 to 10 pm. Friday. Admission is $5, or $25 with dinner. A silent auction and raffle will also be held. All rummage prices are doubled.

• For more information or to buy tickets for the Friday event, call 299-5753 or log onto www.juniorleagueoftucson.org/tucson/index.jsp and follow the links.

So what are you going to do with a pair of polka-dot drapes, 110 pounds of foam rubber, or a stuffed armadillo?

Sell, sell, sell.

For 50 years, that's been the mantra of the Junior League of Tucson, which is holding its annual rummage sale on Saturday.

For league members, it's a year-round endeavor, gathering up everything from precious antiques and jewelry to everyday household items.

They must be doing something right. Thousands show up every year for what is billed as Tucson's largest rummage sale.

Read how it all comes together — and learn how the image of the Junior League has changed over the years.

— Bonnie Henry

Time to rummage

These women make ants look like slackers.

All year long, they solicit, sort and pack used items, loading it all into three semi-truck trailers and two portable storage units parked behind their headquarters.

On Tuesday, 8 a.m. sharp, members of the Junior League of Tucson will arrive at the concourse at Hi Corbett Field to start the unloading.

For the next four days, they'll unpack, price and place all those items in the appropriate sections — electronics to hardware, furniture to baby items, sporting goods to bric-a-brac.

On Friday night, they'll hold a pre-sale party and silent auction. All are welcome but beware: Prices are doubled.

And then at 7 a.m. the next day it begins: the town's largest rummage sale. Again.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the league's rummage sale, which began in the fall of 1958 at the old Pima County Fairgrounds. It netted $4,500.

That year, members stored and sorted the rummage at an airport hangar, then moved it over to the fairgrounds, where trusties from the Pima County jail helped move heavy items and swept up the dust.

In the 1970s, the sale moved to the Tucson Convention Center. In the '90s, the sale moved three times, finally settling into Hi Corbett Field in the late '90s.

"It used to be in October, but it always rained, so we switched to April," says current league president Amy Bhola, 42.

While the league's active members volunteer for a number of causes, all do rummage: 12 hours of time, $150 worth of rummage and a $100 commitment to sell party and raffle tickets.

Donations come in all year, dropped off behind league headquarters at 2099 E. River Road or picked up by members.

"When I was trucking chairman, I called companies to see if they could donate a truck," says Mary Kay Dinsmore, 65. "One time this man said he could loan us a truck but he had no driver. I asked what kind of truck and he said a 20-foot flatbed with a lift gate. I said, 'OK, I'll get it.'

"I had to put my purse behind my back to reach the pedals; the seat wouldn't go forward. But I drove that truck all over town."

Donations over the years have varied from 110 pounds of foam rubber to a pair of lavender polka-dot drapes. The drapes sold for $6. Only later did the donor remember the $5,000 worth of jewelry sewn inside. Its recovery is still unknown.

As for what the league won't accept, "There's a toilet by the dumpster behind our office," says sustaining member Carrie Durham, 48.

The league also says no to large appliances, pianos, underwear, bathing suits, shoes and school textbooks, although romance novels sell quite nicely, says rummage co-chairwoman Julie Farbarik.

Then there was the stuffed armadillo.

"It showed up one year, then got sold," says Durham. "The next year it was back and got sold. It kept coming back every year." Think fruitcake.

Quality items including antiques and designer duds showcase the sale's "Creams and Treasures" section, which is heavily picked over during the Friday night event.

"One time some prominent members of the community, who shall remain nameless, almost came to blows over a mink coat," says Durham.

"You see beautiful things you can't buy in a store any more," says sustaining member Carla Keegan, 49. "I bought two Bob Mackey original gowns there."

Many of the donations come from league members themselves, particularly after a move to smaller quarters.

"Some of the older sustainers will clean out their houses," says Keegan. "I've seen drop-dead gorgeous jewelry, antiques, silver, china."

Then there are those who look to the sale to furnish their homes and clothe their children.

"One year we had a grandmother raising six grandchildren," says Bhola. "She had huge piles of stuff. A league member asked her, 'What can you afford to give?' She pulled $161 out of her bra. She must have had $300 to $400 in merchandise. We sold it to her for $161."

Three hours past the 7 a.m. opening, all items go to half-price. At noon, volunteers sell shoppers large trash bags for $5. "Anything they can get in the bag they can have for that $5," says Farbarik.

When the sale ends at 1, what's left goes to St. Vincent de Paul Thrift Store.

Last year's sale racked up about $70,000, which is consistent, says Bhola, from year to year. All proceeds go back to the league to help run its programs.

"We tried a couple of other funding things, but rummage is something everyone can do," says Dinsmore. "It's not the same as having a ball."

"You're involved and it's a team effort," says Durham.

Adds Farbarik: "I came to realize rummage is bigger than any one person."

BY THE NUMBERS

Number of semi-trucks filled with items destined for sale at the Junior League of Tucson rummage sale.

1,000

Number of shoppers attending the sale's Friday night event.

2,500

Number of shoppers attending the Saturday sale.

13,000

Number of items for sale, excluding books.

1,800

Hours donated by members to the sale, excluding extra hours by rummage committee members and co-chairs.

$70,000

Money raised by the sale annually.

IF YOU GO

• What: Junior League of Tucson rummage sale.

• When: 7 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday.

• Where: Concourse of Hi Corbett Field at Reid Park, 3400 E. Camino Campestre. Entrance off South Country Club Road, south of Broadway.

• Cost: $1 or one can of food for the Community Food Bank.

• For more information or to buy tickets for the Friday event, call 299-5753 or log onto www.juniorleagueoftucson.org/tucson/index.jsp and follow the links.

● Bonnie Henry's column also appears Mondays and Thursdays in Accent. Reach her at 434-4074 or at bhenry@azstarnet.com, or write to 3295 W. Ina Road, Suite 125, Tucson, AZ 85741. Bonnie's latest book ● To order Bonnie Henry's collection of writings about Tucson's rich history, call 573-4417. "Tucson Memories" is $39.95 plus tax, shipping and handling.

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