As the mother of two home-schooled boys, Kathleen Crowther is always on the lookout for books to fill their classroom shelves. A recent four-day Book Sale Fundraiser to benefit the Humane Society of the Calumet Area caught her attention. More than 5,000 items were available for purchase at the organization’s PAWS Resale Shoppe in Highland.
“I usually pick up science and history books,” the Lansing, Ill., mom said, as she browsed among hundreds of boxes set up in the PAWS Resale Shoppe. “Language arts also is on the list, as well as anything else I feel they can learn from.”
While her husband Lorenzo sorted through dozens of vinyl records, his two sons, Edward, 7, and Lorenzo Jr., 9, checked out the children’s paperbacks.
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“You never know what you’ll find at these sales, it’s interesting to see what they have,” Dad said, as he picked up an LP with a date of “May 1939” printed on the sleeve. “I started doing research on old music records and now I’ve found quite a few of them.”
Becky Buchanan also stopped in at the event, bringing her dog Maggie along for the ride — literally.
“Maggie is a rescue dog and an amputee who works in many pet therapy programs,” she said, as she straightened the comfy blanket in the dog’s stroller. “I want to say to everyone that they shouldn’t give up on dogs with special needs. They can become very valuable pets.”
Dawn Kobera of Griffith is a HSCA volunteer who shopped the event on its last day.
“These fundraisers are always so popular, you’ll see things you can’t find anywhere else,” she said, as she worked her way through large box of craft books. “People still like to read, and there’s not many bookstores left.”
Annette DeVries of Lowell agreed.
“There’s such a variety at this kind of sale — everything imaginable,” she said, as she headed toward a table of hardcover books after looking through VCR tapes. “I like to buy small books, ones I can fit in my lunch bag. I’ve already found quite a few.”
The HSCA offers the large-scale Book Sale Fundraiser three times per year; with a four-day duration each time.
“We have great support from the community. For each sale, thousands of items are donated weeks before it takes place,” said Stephanie Anderson, the HSCA marketing director. “There’s always a good turnout. I think many people like having books, in their home and this is one way we can help with that.”
Offering the book sale, which has been on the fundraising schedule for about 10 years, also is one way to help many of those who are newly-retired, according to Mattie McClintock of Hammond.
“I did so much research when I was a secretary, I was used to having many, many, books around,” she said, as she looked through a large box of history books. “I just retired last year and decided to make reading my new hobby. I can’t find a lot of bookstores to go to, so this book sale is just what I need.”
The three large-scale Book Sale Fundraisers, which help with the operating budget of the Humane Society of Calumet Area, are held each year in January, April and September.
Sue Ellen Ross is a freelance writer for the Post-Tribune.