Garage sale partners Chimacum’s C. Randy Okerman and Pam Morgan are frequent garage sale partners, and they made out like bandits at the fairgrounds this year, with Okerman picking up power tools and spare glasses, and Morgan acquiring a sturdy skillet and a marble rolling pin.

But none of this compares to Morgan’s greatest garage sale “get,” just a few years ago, when a military family that had moved back to the states sold an entire German kitchen from the 1930s.

“It didn’t include the sink, but it had all the outlets and fixtures on down,” Okerman said. “It included all the cupboards, and there were keys on each door, just in case mom wanted to keep her kids from getting into the cookies.”

Morgan estimated the kitchen must have dated back to at least the 1930s.

The Glass Magician This year’s garage sale proved to be a boon for Dave Halliday, who not only scored bags of clothing and household goods, but also a comically cartoonish suction cup tool, with a very real use in his job. “I run the Glass Magician out of Port Townsend, so something like this is great for safely picking up bits of broken glass,” Halliday said.

“I guess my favorite stuff to pick up at a garage sale is fishing tackle, though. I fish a lot, all over the channel. I’d be out there right now if it wasn’t blowing so hard.”

Visiting from Vancouver Greer Whillans (left) and Chanel Lacasse, seen here testing out essential oils, happened to be visiting town from Vancouver, British Columbia, and while they mostly just browsed, they fondly recalled obscure treasures they’d picked up at previous garage sales and flea markets. “The best was an old Nintendo 64,” Whillans said. “I was a gamer back in the day. My favorites were Mario Kart and Super Mario.” Lacasse’s favorite pieces were among those in the garage sales she conducted to sell some of her grandparents’ hand-me-downs. “They had some great old antiques,” Lacasse said. Photos by Kirk Boxleitner

‘It’s only $3’ Port Townsend’s Margie McCready (left) was joined at the Jefferson County Fairgrounds by her friend Patty Knox, who had come from Federal Way. While McCready picked up a towel and a wooden chicken, Knox spotted not only a well-groomed feather that had been mounted in a smooth piece of driftwood, but also a “very old,” colorful cloth whose purpose neither she nor McCready could determine.

“Is it a tablecloth?” Knox asked. “Is it part of a bedspread? Is it meant to be draped over a chair? Whatever it is, it’s only $3.”

New boots Kristin Harlan came to the fairgrounds to sell her wares, including kitchen goods and geode stones, but she couldn’t resist picking up a makeup kit and a pair of boots from a fellow vendor.

“Probably the best deal I got was on this huge black candelabra,” Harlan said. “It was very ornate, the kind that you couldn’t buy in a store. I use it as part of my Halloween decorations now.”

First at fairgrounds Allegra McFarland just moved to Port Townsend last August, so this year marked her first garage sale at the fairgrounds. In spite of the inclement weather, she’s already resolved to hit the garage sale earlier in the day next year.

Of the curios she’s acquired at such events, her favorite remains an old artist’s easel. “I do like to paint,” McFarland said. “It’s a relaxing, pleasant distraction.”

World War II “You never know what you’re gonna find,” said Don Teresi of Bainbridge Island, who picked up a car jack and a canteen at the fairgrounds this year.

“One time, I found a German World War II helmet. The sign said it was a ‘fireman’s helmet,’ but the swastika on the side kind of gave it away,” he said, laughing.