Paula Weinman | Echo
Tomorrow, the Unity of Fairmount Extension Homemaker's Club will be hosting the city's seventh annual rummage sale. Vendors will be selling everything from exercise equipment to maternity clothing. They will be set up at homes, garages and even the Wesleyan campground.
The Fairmount Friends Church will be grilling and selling food all day. It's a city-wide sale, and the Club hopes to see a big turn out from residents and visitors alike. Price for all items will be determined by the individual vendors.
The event will be hosted regardless of weather, so visitors are welcome to attend-even if the unpredictable Indiana weather is less than ideal. Rummage sale committee member Beth Holloway has put together a map of participating locations that includes a list of items each vendor intends to sell.
"We've had a great turnout every year," Holloway said. This year, Fairmont is likely to be more crowded than usual, she added.The last few years have seen upwards of 700 people show up, but, since this year's event coincides with Fairmount's baseball season and their high school's prom, Holloway said they may have more visitors.
Regardless, she encourages visitors to come see the wide variety of the items available to attendees. "We have everything. You name it-it's here," she said.
This year, many vendors are planning on selling things that would appeal to specific age groups.
"If I had a baby, this would be the place to be," Holloway said, citing the wide availability of used baby clothing.But the sale gives shoppers more than great deals and cheap finds, according to club member-and regular rummage attendee-Diana Sickman. There's a community aspect to the sale as well.
Sickman is also responsible for finding business sponsors. In exchange for a $10 donation to the rummage sale, businesses are able to advertise on the rummage sale map. After the maps are finished and printed, Sickman drops stacks of them off for visitors to pick up. As the rummage sale has grown in popularity, she's noticed that it's become harder to keep maps in stock."I like seeing people and asking how far they've come to go to the rummage sale. People come from all over," Sickman said. "I look forward to it every year. Everybody does."
"(Last year) I got out of my car at the store and people were lined up to get the maps," Sickman said. She tries to avoid putting the maps out too early to make sure that visitors to Fairmount will be able to get a map.
Holloway believes the rummage sale is a very special event in the life of the community-as the Unity of Fairmount Extension Homemakers' Club had hoped it would be when they started the rummage sale seven years ago.
The Club makes no money from the sale. Instead, Holloway said club members wanted townspeople to have the chance to make some money themselves-and eliminate clutter at the same time."We started it as a community service," she said. "It's something we can offer to the community."
