RUMMAGING AROUND SAN DIEGO COUNTY:

A Quick Preview of the 80th Annual THURSDAY CLUB RUMMAGE SALE

March 24th through March 25th (Over Now, But Look What You Missed!)

(Please note:  San Diego's Rummage Sale season starts again in the Fall, so we are leaving this item up about the Thursday Club's sale until then. Be sure to check back with us.--editor.)

     The Thursday Club has done it again! And this is their 80th year sponsoring San Diego County's largest Rummage Sale.  We were there on Thursday, March 22nd, while they were still receiving deliveries, unpacking and labeling everything for sale.  But even so, we viewed enough of the sale to be able to inform you that this is another great event for this organization.  And remember, almost all of the proceeds benefit various charities.  In recent years, The Thursday Club (through the Thursday Club Foundation) has supported the Aerospace Museum, Old Globe Disabled Services Advisory Council, Friends of Balboa Park, The Municipal Gym, ARCS, Urban Corps, St. Paul's Retirement Home Foundation, Goodwill Industries, the Burn Institute and many others.  Last year's sale earned $80,000 and we expect this year's sale to do the same.

      The Thursday Club is somewhat unique because all of the Club's volunteers are required to donate quality items to the sale and must also volunteer several hours of work at the sale in order to meet membership requirements.  We have probably covered The Thursday Club's Rummage Sale for well over 10 years now and year after year we find amazing collectibles in easy-to-find sections clearly delineated with large signs.  Again this year we noticed more room to move around in, which helps a great deal because rummage sale aficionados begin lining up around 5 AM!  If you are serious about rummage sales, then you will need to arrive early because men, women and children arrive from throughout the County in addition to those who drive down from Orange and L.A. counties.  

      In any event, a rummage sale is a rummage sale -- full of household goods, books, electronics, linens, Christmas items, clothing and more.  This one has a silent auction which I believe is located in the Gold Room where you write down your bid and hope no one tops it!

The Gold Room is where some of the collectibles are yet this year, major artwork and collectibles is located to the right of the entrance.  We saw some wonderful collectibles there; however, The Thursday Club always has a prior gala event where members bid and as a result, what we saw today may not be there tomorrow.  Nevertheless, it is a very good sale because the quality is high and the prices remain low.  We saw one exception:  a large throw pillow for $7.50 -- the only over-pricing noted by us.  We were disappointed to note that no one (by March 22nd at least) had taken the time to put all of the books facing the same way.  That is going to cause chaos because one just cannot switch aisles to read titles in the right order.  (We're hoping that The Thursday Club will straighten this out prior to the sale.)  Again, household items are incredible!  Near new crock pots, great cookers, wonderful pots and pans.  And, over by the books, several great pieces of unusual furniture -- all in very good condition indeed.  I saw an absolutely gorgeous round antique oak table for only $150.  While I understand why organizations like this one allow volunteers to buy ahead of the public (they pay a premium on top of the price), I have never supported it.  I believe it diminishes the sale and what one finds here.  Volunteers should be recognized another way -- even if only one change is made -- that they are not allowed to advance buy quality artwork, old furniture, collectibles and antiques.  The rest would be fair game.  Because everyone has different tastes and desires, we're sure much will remain to interest buyers.  Be sure not to miss the auction or the collectibles section.  As to electronics, we were disappointed with stereos and radios.  Even though The Thursday Club tries to check the wiring to be sure everything is in working order, we could tell most of the DVD's, radios and CD players were older models; some were very dirty and dusty.  But we know they will sell because they always do.  Some mechanical wizard out there will shine them up, fix what needs to be fixed and then sell them for a huge profit. So...rain or shine (the sale is in the Municipal Gym, Balboa Park, and starts at 9 AM--see our listings under Rummage Sales)........go check this sale out.  It's the best sale in town!  Here is a tiny look at the sale, with pictures taken on the 22nd, to give you an advance look at what The Thursday Club has to offer.

Miscellaneous News

     As stated previously, the Mission Hills Church will no longer host rummage sales and will instead combine sales with Mission Hills garage sales. (More on this in a week or so.)  We are recommending that they host rummage sales every two years, to allow them to accumulate items and not burden church members.