Ready to Rummage in Katonah

When the sun comes up in Katonah on Sunday, April 25th, the lawn of the First Presbyterian Church on Bedford Rd. will look as green and lush as every other yard in town.

By 6 p.m. Sunday evening, you will be hard pressed to see a blade of grass there. The chuchyard will be filled with all manner of items for sale: Rummage!

The annual Katonah Presbyterian Church Rummage Sale is known far and wide as a spring cleaner's savior and a bargain hunter's paradise. And as a result, the church regularly raises more than $25,000 to benefit more than 25 service organizations-- from those close to home, such as The Community Center in Katonah as well as global children's charities serving people around the world.

Mary Tschorn, one of three co-chairs for this year's event, said that the church has held the sale for 60 years as a service to the community.

"Some people want to get rid of stuff without just throwing it in the trash. Others want or need to buy things at a reduced price. Many people from different socio-economic groups both in our community and around the world benefit from the money we raise," she said.

The action begins at noon on Sunday, after morning church service, of course. Traffic regularly backs up on Bedford Road as people unload furniture, toys, books, clothes, household goods and more. 

(Items NOT accepted include used tires, computers, TV's and home exercise machines.).

Outdoor sales, which includes furniture, sports equipment and other items displayed on the lawn, start at 10 am Monday morning.

Brisk sales continue outside Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. At the same time, inside the church, according to Tschorn, a miracle is unfolding. All the bags containing clothes, books, small items and special treasures that are dropped off on Sunday go inside into a huge pile.

"It literally becomes a mountain," Tschorn said.

Dr. Paul "Bud" Spierling has been "Manager of the Mountain" for the past ten years. He directs a team of volunteers that sort, price and organize items for sale. By Thursday morning the miracle is complete and, at 9 a.m., the church doors open for the much-anticipated indoor sales.

"Every year, the line waiting for the indoor sales opening stretches well around the corner," Tschorn said. "People know that there is plenty of quality merchandise to be had, especially if you're an early bird." 

And while it's not "Antiques Roadshow," Tschorn says they have seen some valuable pieces come to be sold. "We regularly have family heirloom furniture, and we consult with a jewelry expert to ensure that we're pricing the jewelry correctly. Sometimes we have amazing treasures donated."

She recounted one oft-repeated story of finding a $100 bill in a pocket of donated pants. "We were able to identify the person who brought the clothes in and tried to give the money back, but they donated it to the Rummage Sale!" Tschorn said.

Tschorn's co-chairs for the event are Heidi Cambareri and Marianne Minnich. Marianne's parents, Bill and Charlotte, have been volunteering at the sale since they joined the church many years ago. And other longtime volunteers, including Don and Margy Coe, and Claire Haworth, who traveled all the way from her new home in Cape Cod to help, have been donning yellow volunteer aprons each year for decades.

By Saturday, green lawn is once again showing through and final sales are made at truly bargain prices. Items not sold are donated to the Salvation Army and others, or trucked to Crusher Rd. for Bedford's Dump Days and one more chance for a sale at the Chowder and Marching Club's Dump Days Tag Sale.

"The clean-up on Saturday is another miracle," Tschorn said. "For days and days there is just an enormous amount of stuff moving through here." But when the parishoners come to worship on Sunday morning again, all they see outside is lovely green lawn.