Treasure Chest sale delivers goods and generosity
By Laura Hipshire
THE ERICKSON TRIBUNE
Sue Sprague will never forget the day she doled out the deal of the century, so to speak. Sue, who moved with her husband, Bob, to Henry Ford Village from Bloomfield Hills, was working her volunteer shift at the Treasure Chest sale, an indoor ‘yard’ sale of sorts at the Dearborn community.
Although volunteers working the sale meticulously place orange price stickers on every item at the sale, there are always those customers that want to barter for a better deal. Sue has heard comments such as “Oh, that’s too much,” more times than she can count. Who usually wins out? “I do,” laughs Sue. This time, though, Sue had to take one for the team, when a pricey item was mysteriously placed with an inexpensive lot.
“It was a crystal Waterford vase,” says Sue. “Somebody had put it with the fifty-cent vases.” The lucky bargain hunter told Sue, “That’s where I found it,” and paid a mere two quarters for the fancy vase.
Sue has been donating her time to the Treasure Chest sale for the past nine years – she even gave the sale its catchy name. “I named it four years ago,” says Sue. “I named it that because there are a lot of treasures to be found there.
“We have everything here, from nail clippers to linens to furniture,” says Sue, who typically handles the kitchen items, housewares, and knickknacks. “All the good stuff,” she says.
Bargain hunters can purchase small items such as bookmarks, CD’s, and books, to larger finds such as television sets, computers, and chairs.
Sue is one of six volunteers that staff the sale. Besides offering great deals at fair prices, 100% of the proceeds from the Treasure Chest sale go to the Benevolent Fund at Henry Ford Village, a charitable fund which is administered by the people who live at the community. Currently, Quintin Kremer oversees the sale, making sure everything runs smoothly; he’s often found helping out in any one of the Treasure Chest’s three store rooms.