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AFTER 72 YEARS THE WHITE ELEPHANT GOES INTERNATIONAL Old Lyme’s White Elephant Sale Is Every July !!
Old Lyme’s White Elephant Sale is the biggest, the best, and certainly the most enjoyable rummage sale in New England. The sale, held every summer on the first weekend after the Fourth of July, will be held this Friday, July 6th, from 9am till 2pm and on Saturday, July 7th, from 8am till noon. The sale is located at the First Congregational Church, corner of Lyme Street and Ferry Road, in downtown Old Lyme. This week’s White Elephant Sale in Old Lyme has double significance. First, it is the 72nd consecutive year of the sale. Second, the sale is jumping from Old Lyme to Johannesburg, South Africa. The international connection began in 1988 when local ministers Rev. David Good and Rev. Carleen Gerber traveled to South Africa and were encouraged to develop closer ties between South African and American churches. They met a courageous minister in Soweto, Rev. Paul Verryn, and together formed a partnership with the Methodist Church of Southern Africa. Exchange visits between Old Lyme and South Africa began in 1989. Since then, a visiting minister came to Connecticut for two years, a South African choir toured here, and a delegation from Old Lyme built seven Habitat for Humanity houses in South Africa. The latest initiative is to create a South African version of the not-for-profit tag sale that is so successful here. Attending last year’s sale was Kongeka Lolwana from Johannesburg, South Africa. Kongeka, 32, is the mother of eight year old twins and an active member of the Central Methodist Church there. She first came to the USA while her mother was getting her doctorate from UMass. Two years ago her mother returned to Old lYme, saw the sale and decided that it would work back home. In a few months Kongeka will be the chairperson for the Central Methodist’s sale. “I’m impressed with the organization here”, Kongeka told some volunteers. “The people have been so friendly and helpful. I will take back a lot of practical ideas for our own sale. The main difference will be the quantity and type of donations, but the spirit of helping others will be the same.” The First Congregational Church dates back to a pioneer group in 1666. In the earliest years the women of the church cooked and sewed to raise money for church projects. In 1888 the ladies formed the Neck Road Society to raise money for town projects: a recipe book was compiled and sold to help the town band. Over the years the women held concerts, socials, and “entertainments” to raise money for local causes. By 1917 suppers were being held for the men of the Connecticut National Guard. During and after WWII the attention was international: a Czech orphan, an English church, and Chinese children were among the projects funded by White Elephant sales. The Ladies Benevolent Society was the name chosen for the church sponsored women’s group and remains the name today. The initials, “LBS” have become a more practical name now that many men and non-church members have joined. Some have even suggested a name change to Lyme Benefits Society. Regardless of name, the tradition will continue here and will begin in Africa and other places. The first rummage sale was held in one room of the church in 1920 and raised $200, a surprising amount of money at the time. By 1936 the name White Elephant was given to the annual event. In the 1950’s the sale briefly expanded to include a country fair, horse show, and square dance. In recent decades the sale in its present format has become a two-day tradition. Local and regional publicity brings record numbers of visitors to each succeeding sale. The prices have remained low and attractive, even though the quality seems to get better. More antiques are being donated, along with jewelry items and art. The stuffed animal toys and dolls are now accompanied by toys with microchips The old balls and bats are mostly gone, replaced by cross country skis and exercise equipmentThe kitchen items and furniture are perennial favorites. The sale is just the place for furnishing a college room or an apartment. The clothes are terrific, with a huge selection for men, women and children. There are 30 departments in the White Elephant Sale - with everything from sporting goods to boutique items, books to furniture, art to electronics, dishes to shoes, clothes and toys to antiques and tools - all spread out in separate departments in tents and inside the church. You will find collectibles and treasures of all sorts! This year’s donations include many antique pieces, two kayaks, three boats, dozens of bicycles, hundreds of art items, thousands of clothing and household items, and jars of an heirloom rosemary herb mix. A coffee mug will sell for a few cents; a fine drop-leaf table will cost fewer dollars than a dealer‘s price. Beach donuts and coffee is served from 8 am on as the early shoppers await the chime of the steeple at 9am.on Friday. Hamburgers and hot dogs on the grill with homemade salads and desserts are also a favorite around noon. But the White Elephant Sale is about more than raising a few dollars for local charities. The event has become a shoreline community effort of people helping people. Over the years the volunteers have changed from just church members to a cross section of people of all faiths and colors from several local communities. The donations have arrived from hundreds of families in dozens of communities along the river and shore. There is a growing understanding that this is not just a church fund raiser. The money is going back into the community thru the various organization it supports and through the church‘s community programs. Dozens of children and teens are helping with this year’s sales and many had comments. Alex, 14, said, “I have helped for several years. Moving and selling all this stuff is neat.” Duff, 17, from Dominican Republic, said, “In my country we have nothing like this. This is a cool idea.” Cary, a worker who supervised many of the kids, remarked,”I was amazed by their energy and enthusiasm. Every kid and teenager understood that the donations were raising money to help local families and their kids. The sale helps teach a good lesson – it’s important to give back more than you receive.” The White Elephant handles thousands of donated items: kitchen items and clothing items are the most numerous. Donations are collected for two weeks before the sale and are sorted and priced by hundreds of volunteers. Useful donations are stored in barns. Non-salable truckloads of cardboard, paper, plastic and metal are sent to recycling. After the sale Goodwill Industries take two tractor-trailer loads of unsold but good items to its New Haven processing center. A final recycling effort makes sure nothing is unused or wasted. In recent years the sale has netted over $50,000 per event. The proceeds are divided among a variety of charities. About 80% are shoreline based; the remainder is national and international programs. Local groups receiving cash included Lyme Youth Service, Lyme Senior Center, Bikes for Kids, Visiting Nurse Association, Women’s Center in New London, World House in New London, Literacy Volunteers, several local soup kitchens, the Branford Hospice, and others. Gifts to distant charities helped children in Afghanistan and tsunami victims in Asia. In the past two years over 40 separate groups have received White Elephant funds. White Elephants in Africa? Not likely: the name will probably change. The slang is purely American and the origin is from Sir Lanka. Legend suggests that in ancient days the king would give rare white elephants to families the king disliked. The cost of upkeep was so expensive the new owners would soon face financial ruin. Over many years the term changed to mean a possession no longer wanted or needed that could be donated to a charity sale. Most churches call them rummage sales or tag sales. The British call them jumble sales and that name may be used in South Africa. Or perhaps Old Lyme will score a jargon hit across the continents and create an elephant of a different color, White Elephant Sale indeed!
If
you’d like more information about the sale, or to schedule an interview with the
ministers or sale managers,
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