By Andrea Cleghorn
A peak shopping opportunity comes around in odd-numbered years, just as the chrome yellow forsythia blooms along Old Billerica Road.
The doors will open for the Excess Baggage Sale at Carleton-Willard Village, 100 Old Billerica Road, at 9:30 am on Friday, May 5. When the sale closes at 2 pm, it is over until the spring of 2019.
About the Sale
Beginning as a small rummage sale just after Carleton-Willard Village’s opening more than 30 years ago, the Excess Baggage Sale has grown into a much-anticipated Bedford event.
Joan Kaufman and Alice Morrish are co-chairs this year, about to finish their three-sale term. They have lived at Carleton-Willard 11 and 9 years respectively. They had a minute to sit down and talk about the sale this past week, taking time between jewelry sorting and answering questions from other residents about the sale.
Many residents have downsized considerably by the time they get to Old Billerica Road. “When you move here you imagine your life will be the same, but of course it isn’t. You aren’t cooking three meals a day the way you used to, and that chair you thought would fit just won’t,” Kaufman said.
The sale has a structure that has evolved over the years, with captains and co-captains for each department. Morrish and Kaufman oversee this year’s sale, easily able to recite the departments in alphabetical order all the way from Art, Bags & Scarves, China and Glass through to Luggage. And in between are the Desk and Games, Electrical, 50-Cent tables. And, oh yes, there are cashiers and a Receive-and-Sort team that makes sure the donations fit the Excess Baggage policy. Space and condition are an issue, explaining the 5 x 7 maximum size for rugs.
At the end of the day, Habitat for Humanity’s ReStore collects the leftovers.
Pricing
Prices are high enough to make an impressive amount of money for the recipient organizations selected each year, but low enough to move the merchandise. At the end of the sale, the auditorium needs to be cleared to be ready for the weekend’s religious services.
Kaufman and Morrish said they try not to worry too much about the pricing, though it can lead to some lively conversation on the part of the various department teams.
“Well, let’s see, my mother had one like that and it might have been worth..” Or, “I saw that necklace at Chico’s and it was $30, so let’s say $15.”
“It’s bonding,” they agreed.
Morrish donated a quilt she had made years ago, “It made me feel good to see someone so happy to buy it,” she said.
The co-chairs stressed that they never know what items will show up till the last-minute. Looking at photos from last year there are things that looked like lovely but unused wedding registry gifts, as well as souvenirs from residents’ travels – Italian lace or items embroidered in Mexico and Palestine.
Who Helps with the Sale?
Volunteers sort and display the donations. When does a china pitcher move from Kitchen to China and Glass? That would be a committee pow-wow, according to the co-chairs.
There is a wealth of in-house expertise of various kinds, offered by residents who are adept at beautifully arranging the donations, safety-proofing electrical items, or refinishing furniture. A resident antiques expert has spotted authentic Victorian-era furniture from time to time.
Some donations are in need of a little TLC, Kaufman says, “Furniture may be nice but a little rickety. Volunteers touch-up, glue or replace missing parts, and just generally spruce things up. Small electrical appliances are carefully inspected, lamps are rewired.”
The Excess Baggage Sale has impressive buy-in from the Carleton-Willard community, with more than 100 of the 300-plus residents signed up to help out. It is clear from experiencing the buzz around Carleton-Willard’s Main Street, that there is plenty of fun to go around.
What’s on Offer?
Who among the Bedford community has not recognized classic Americana kitchen items — the black iron trivet with the flower decal, the plaid dish towels, glass canisters, the spatulas and strainers, the coffee cups hanging on a mug tree?
But what about big-ticket items?
A Thomas Moser chair fetched approximately $800 one year, another year the top ticket item was a gleaming contemporary dining room table — with chairs –that sold for about $300.
“Nothing has ever sold for as much as $1,000,” Kaufman commented. “One year there was an organ, another time a vintage sewing machine.” Valuable jewelry is locked up in glass cases.
What you won’t find in the sale: clothing, live plants, books, computers, and Christmas decorations.
What Does the Sale Support?
Last year the event made $22,000 for charity, netting slightly less after hiring a police detail for security and professional movers who come to the rescue of the large demand requests for moving, both non-negotiable costs. Other costs, which the committee tries to keep at a reasonable rate are table rental, carpentry costs, lunch for workers, and various miscellaneous supplies.
Proceeds from Excess Baggage 2015 went to Bedford’s Dollars for Scholars, as well as the International Rescue Committee, Partners in Health, and Rosie’s Place. The recipients are nominated by a sub-committee of the sale and voted on by the resident population at large.
Tales from the Sale
In the practice of full disclosure, this writer couldn’t resist the most magnificent iron window boxes painted a vivid purple. As it turned out, the scale was more suited to Versailles than Fletcher Road, and the boxes didn’t have drainage, so after a few years they moved on to a conventional yard sale. I suspect those window boxes have had more homes than Black Beauty (and may be out to pasture at this point).
Barb Montgomery Seager, a former Bedfordshire resident said she has never missed a sale, putting the event on her calendar to look for furniture and original paintings. She remembers one sale with spirited competition for a Wellesley College chair: two well-mannered but determined would-be buyers each tried to convince the other why she deserved it.
Did it lead to fisticuffs?
“No, just a little shaming,” she said laughing. “I will drive up from Norwood May 5 — and bring my dad.”
About Carleton-Willard Village
Carleton-Willard Village is the oldest accredited continuing care retirement community in Massachusetts. A not-for-profit organization, its roots go back to the late 1800s – one of its predecessor organizations was Llewsac Lodge, located in the same spot that Carleton-Willard sits today. There are apartments and cluster homes on the 72-acre campus, as well as personal care services, a skilled nursing and short-term rehabilitation center, as well as an Alzheimer’s center. A sister organization, Carleton-Willard At Home offers information and support to those who prefer to stay in their own homes as they grow older. Learn more at www.cwvillage.org/
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