While looking over a used Disney lamp destined for a child’s bedroom nightstand, a young mother pauses to think about what she would be willing to pay for the item. Perhaps $5 would be fair. Then again, maybe $20 should take care of it — after all, it’s a fundraiser.
At the annual Amazing Grange Day rummage sale, nothing has a price tag. Shoppers pay what they think is fair. And what they choose to pay, organizers say, has kept the Grange’s biggest fundraiser thriving for eight years running.
“We’ve done it all the years we’ve done Amazing Grange Day,” said Judy Hays-Eberts, president of Marys River Grange No. 685. “There’s a lot of people who, because they appreciate where it’s going, they’re more than generous.”
The sale returns Saturday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the historic Marys River Grange Hall. Hays-Eberts said this year’s haul is shaping up to be one of the biggest yet, thanks in part to a new partnership with the Philomath Scout Lodge, which recently held its own community sale.
“They not only gave us everything left over from their sale, but they also helped publicize our sale, too,” Hays-Eberts said. “So it’s been a really nice relationship.”
Donations have also come from as far away as Corvallis and Albany. Community members have continued dropping off items and making pickup arrangements in the days since the Grange’s collection day. Hays-Eberts described it as a “very full haul” for Saturday with a sale that will include everything from a kayak to furniture, household goods, clothing and plants.
Grange volunteers are happy to suggest a price for anyone who prefers not to name their own. Hays-Eberts said the approach also helps shoppers on a tighter budget find what they need. Items that don’t sell will again go to local nonprofits, including Philomath Community Services and St. Vincent de Paul in Corvallis.
Longtime attendees will notice one change this year — the Grange’s popular pie auction has moved to its Harvest Fest event later this year.
Money raised at Amazing Grange Day goes toward maintaining the Grange Hall, and this year’s proceeds arrive as a long-planned kitchen remodel nears the finish line. The project — funded mostly through grants — has included installing a three-basin sink, with a hand-washing station expected to be completed within the next week or so.
Along the way, the Grange discovered it also needed to address septic repairs, adding an unplanned expense to the project.
Looking further ahead, Hays-Eberts said the Grange expects its next major maintenance project will be replacing the hall’s wood furnace in the basement.
Last year’s rummage sale raised $3,800 in five hours, and Hays-Eberts said she doesn’t set a hard fundraising target for this year.
“It’s a big redistribution project, actually, and it’s really important that a lot of this stuff finds new homes at any price,” she said. “But the community is pretty generous, and we’re always overwhelmed with how it turns out.”
Hays-Eberts said the fundraiser reflects the broader relationship between the Grange and the Philomath community. What was once a quieter hall has become a busy community hub in recent years, hosting Monday dances, Tuesday yoga, a craft night and spoon jam, plus a monthly inspirational sharing group. On top of that, hall rentals have gone to various groups for their own fundraising events.
“It’s a win-win with this community,” Hays-Eberts said. “We’re so well supported in a lot of ways by the community, but then we focus on supporting the community, too.”
She credited the event’s success to a broad volunteer effort — from Grange members and nonmembers who help organize the sale, to the donors who supply items, and the shoppers who turn out to buy them
“It takes everybody,” Hays-Eberts said. “It’s really the whole community that pulls together.”
Marys River Grange Hall is located at 24707 Grange Hall Road in Philomath.
