The weather of late may have been a bit hot, but with warm or hot weather in the Midwest come yard sales and flea markets. Bring ‘em on!
One I haven’t written about is the local one right here in River City at Haymarket Square. That flea market is in its third year I believe, the first Saturday of each month from May through November. The official start time is 8 a.m., but the hard-core shoppers sneak in a bit earlier.
The advertising card says “Antiques, art and more. Come on down and join us for a good time and find a treasure to take home. Food and drink available. Free admission.”
I don’t know about finding a treasure yet, but at each market I manage to find a few items to take home. There are antiques at almost each market and I’ve acquired a few of them. Most prices are reasonable and most dealers will negotiate. Some prices are ridiculous.
The good thing about this one is you don’t have to drive an hour to get to it. Not if you live in Leavenworth that is. Last year a farmers’ market was also at Haymarket Square with the flea market, which I thought would cause only confusion. But it hasn’t, and although I have yet to venture into the produce part of the area, some of the hospitable farmers holler friendly greetings to us at the other end of activities.
At the August event there were dealers I’ve seen many times before, and there are always new ones. A young woman had several tables full of “stuff” and when I looked at some of the prices I was quite surprised.
She had frames and cups for 5 cents. It was obvious she wanted to get rid of stuff more than she wanted to make money on stuff. Those are my kind of dealers.
I haven’t mentioned books yet. If you like new books, on more subjects than I can mention here, go to this market. Leavenworth’s own Collectors Books sets up several tables of brand-new books at marked down prices. It’ll take you a while to look over them all.
In addition to the regular dealers who generally have their same place at each market, at each one there is always someone or something new.
At the far east end of the lot, outside the shade of the square’s roof, were six tables filled with lots of miscellaneous items. I thought I recognized one of the people running the tables as a retired colonel from the fort. I wasn’t aware that he was a flea marketer.
He was retired Col. Marv Nickels, his wife, and retired Lt. Col. Joe Gibson and his wife. Nickels’ wife handed me a flyer that explained why the two families were there. All profits from the items on the six tables were to be donated to a college friend of the Nickels’ daughters.
The young woman, Laura Winstead, 28, lives in Springfield, Mo., and in February was diagnosed with leukemia. She had lost her job due to the economy and is using COBRA insurance to pay her medical bills.
She and husband John have a 2-year-old son, and her plight moved the two Leavenworth families to help. All items on the tables had been donated and each was priced at a dollar a piece, plus any more a purchaser wished to donate.
I bought a few items, and later went back to get a few more. Any readers who would like to help in this cause can call the Nickels at 727-1535 or the Gibsons at 682-2285. The cause is good and since I’ve known both officers for several years I know that any assistance would be appreciated.
It’s a lot of work to set up several tables at a yard sale or flea market, and I was impressed that these two local families were willing to do it for a good cause rather than for any profit they might make. Helping them help Laura would be a good thing to do.
John Reichley is a retired Army officer and retired Department of the Army civilian employee.
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The weather of late may have been a bit hot, but with warm or hot weather in the Midwest come yard sales and flea markets. Bring ‘em on!
One I haven’t written about is the local one right here in River City at Haymarket Square. That flea market is in its third year I believe, the first Saturday of each month from May through November. The official start time is 8 a.m., but the hard-core shoppers sneak in a bit earlier.
The advertising card says “Antiques, art and more. Come on down and join us for a good time and find a treasure to take home. Food and drink available. Free admission.”
I don’t know about finding a treasure yet, but at each market I manage to find a few items to take home. There are antiques at almost each market and I’ve acquired a few of them. Most prices are reasonable and most dealers will negotiate. Some prices are ridiculous.
The good thing about this one is you don’t have to drive an hour to get to it. Not if you live in Leavenworth that is. Last year a farmers’ market was also at Haymarket Square with the flea market, which I thought would cause only confusion. But it hasn’t, and although I have yet to venture into the produce part of the area, some of the hospitable farmers holler friendly greetings to us at the other end of activities.
At the August event there were dealers I’ve seen many times before, and there are always new ones. A young woman had several tables full of “stuff” and when I looked at some of the prices I was quite surprised.
She had frames and cups for 5 cents. It was obvious she wanted to get rid of stuff more than she wanted to make money on stuff. Those are my kind of dealers.
I haven’t mentioned books yet. If you like new books, on more subjects than I can mention here, go to this market. Leavenworth’s own Collectors Books sets up several tables of brand-new books at marked down prices. It’ll take you a while to look over them all.
In addition to the regular dealers who generally have their same place at each market, at each one there is always someone or something new.
At the far east end of the lot, outside the shade of the square’s roof, were six tables filled with lots of miscellaneous items. I thought I recognized one of the people running the tables as a retired colonel from the fort. I wasn’t aware that he was a flea marketer.
He was retired Col. Marv Nickels, his wife, and retired Lt. Col. Joe Gibson and his wife. Nickels’ wife handed me a flyer that explained why the two families were there. All profits from the items on the six tables were to be donated to a college friend of the Nickels’ daughters.
The young woman, Laura Winstead, 28, lives in Springfield, Mo., and in February was diagnosed with leukemia. She had lost her job due to the economy and is using COBRA insurance to pay her medical bills.
She and husband John have a 2-year-old son, and her plight moved the two Leavenworth families to help. All items on the tables had been donated and each was priced at a dollar a piece, plus any more a purchaser wished to donate.
I bought a few items, and later went back to get a few more. Any readers who would like to help in this cause can call the Nickels at 727-1535 or the Gibsons at 682-2285. The cause is good and since I’ve known both officers for several years I know that any assistance would be appreciated.
It’s a lot of work to set up several tables at a yard sale or flea market, and I was impressed that these two local families were willing to do it for a good cause rather than for any profit they might make. Helping them help Laura would be a good thing to do.
John Reichley is a retired Army officer and retired Department of the Army civilian employee.
