After Carol Lorhman gave her neighbor a ride to the recent Indoor Garage Sale at Jean Shepherd Center, she planned on driving to a nearby department store to shop for birthday gifts.
But at the last minute, the Hammond resident decided to join the hundreds of others perusing the 130 vendors at the huge semi-annual sale. She was glad she did.
“I found those four birthday presents that were on my list. I had no idea this sale would have new things as well as used,” Lorhman said, as she juggled her shopping bags. “And of course, I did find a few bargains for myself.”
The Hammond Parks Department sponsors the indoor sales which offer merchandise running the gamut — from new candle sets and jewelry to discarded street signs and dishware, with much more in between.
Booth spaces were rented by individuals, families and organizations.
Tammi Davis of Gary and her family members manned five tables loaded with antiques, glassware, workout gear and dozens of other items.
“We’re ready to sell,” Davis laughed, as she wrote signs exclaiming, “Make an Offer”, and neatly lining up her wares. “This is a great way to clean out and make some money.”
Many are repeat vendors and agreed with Davis that the sale gave the opportunity to start spring cleaning a little early.
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“We usually start after the Easter holiday to spruce up our house and yard,” said Lon Jackson of Calumet City Ill. “There’s always so much excess we don’t use. This year, I found some new garden tools still in their original package in the garage and also duplicates, like as an extra broom.”
As for visitors to the extravaganza, they came in droves throughout the day.
“My husband was laid off a few months ago and our lives have changed big time,” said Tiffany K. of Hammond. “With two children, we’re finding out that shopping garage sales is a terrific way to stick to our very tight budget.”
Lara P. of Merrillville recently inherited her grandmother’s set of silver tableware and collection of crystal vases.
“There’s so many pieces missing from both the silverware and crystal,” she said, as she looked for a vendor that might have what she needed. “I can’t even find the forks and spoons online, and a friend suggested I try this big sale.”
Vendor Butch Wisniewski used his idea of creating a scorekeeper of sorts and displayed the end result at the sale.
“Whenever we were at a cornhole tournament, or any bean bag game, no one knew what the score was, since there was no scoreboard,” said the Chicago resident, as he explained the tall wooden stick with markings that manually marked the game’s action. “Now, everyone can keep track of what’s going on.”
For those wanting to take a break from treasure-hunting, the parks department offered hot dogs and snacks for sale.
“They really did think of everything,” laughed Yolanda Messner of Hammond, as her three children lined up for lunch. “I didn’t think we’d be here so long — we came about two hours ago — and we’re not done yet. But I have to feed the kids!”
Sue Ellen Ross is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.