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The Lutsen Community rummage sale was, once again, a big hit with proceeds topping $8,000. Photo by Rob Perez
This year the Lutsen Rummage Sale got off to an inauspicious start. On Thursday night, two nights before the sale opened, someone stole several items. “It’s never happened before,” laments sale organizer, Sharon Hexum Platzer. “Good grief.” Good grief indeed. Authorities have been notified and reports filed.
But, as they say, the show must go on. So, on Saturday July 17, the fourteenth annual minus one (they took 2020 off for Covid) Lutsen Community Rummage Sale took place. People from all over donate their wares for the sale. “It has been a blessing to see so many people donate all kinds of goodies,” observes Sharon Hexum-Platzer. There was a large range of offerings, big and small. Everything from appliances to toys to Christmas ornaments. Larger items included bikes, canoes, a snowmobile, an elliptical exercise machine, and a small sailboat.
At 9 a.m. sharp, a range of eager shoppers descended on the grounds of Lutsen Evangelical Lutheran Church. Many there were well aware this is a great event to look for something unique. Others were merely curious. Plenty of volunteers were on hand to help. But there were Covid sensitive changes. For the first time this year they don’t have a bake sale because it normally takes place in the basement with not enough ventilation. Instead, they offered items “Made in Lutsen,” everything from eggs to jam to jewelry. You could also grab a hot dog hot off the grill if all that rummaging required some nourishment. And if your happened-upon treasure was still around, Sunday was a day for significant price drops.
The money raised is then donated to the Lutsen Evangelical Lutheran Church, but ultimately is given back to the community in some form. The Church supports everything from lower-income dental plans to the food shelf and, of course, invest in a few church projects.
In the end, over 300 people attended the event. Thirty-seven volunteers clocked in 430 hours and total sales will once again top $8000. It was also a place for people to reconnect with folks they haven’t seen in a long time.
If you weren’t able to get that perfect one-of-a-kind thing you never knew you always wanted, there’s always next year.
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