Donors respond: Lots of unique, vintage items ready for new homes

A suitcase showed up in the donation bin, full of creations from Zimbabwe.

Another donor chose to give her 1950s clip earrings for the cause.

And it seems there are always items like vintage furniture, comic books and sets of china needing to be re-homed.

Donna Booher, Becky Laughmiller and Sally Daley are thrilled to see each and every one come through the doors at New Providence Presbyterian Church in Maryville. The trio tags these antiques, collectibles and home decor. They will all be revealed to the public on Friday and Saturday, April 19-20.

That’s when New Providence will hold its Antiques and Collectibles Sale; hours are from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday and from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, set up in the church’s Westminster Hall. Admission and browsing are free.

All three of these organizers have spent years volunteering for the event. New Providence has a donation room where people can bring what they no longer want to keep around. Daley said donors never disappoint.

“This one (Booher) has been saying for the last month, ‘We aren’t going to have enough stuff, we just won’t have enough stuff,’” Daley said. “I kept saying, ‘We will.’ Now we are saying, ‘What are we going to do with all this stuff?’”

Sell it, they all agree. The offerings this time include Miami Dolphins glasses, Kentucky Derby glasses, bowls from Zimbabwe, vintage bowls, travel and art books, a phonograph with cabinet, dining chairs dating back decades, child’s rocking chair, rugs and more. Vintage clothing is a favorite find, along with purses and other accessories.

Booher said the congregants of New Providence prove generous before each sale. Most are motivated by the fact that every dime brought in goes back out into the community, to various charitable organizations. In addition to its members, there are those not affiliated with the church that donate too.

“We are never disappointed,” Booher said. Last year, $64,000 was donated to places like Blount County Community Food Connection, Empty Pantry Fund, Haven House, Kiwanis Imagination Library, Special Growers and Trinity Heath Ministries.

These three women also have the help of others who check on the value of what comes in. Daley said she once put $5 on a license plate until she heard it was highly sought after by collectors. It was from the 1950s and in the shape of Tennessee. They ended up selling it for $200.

Laughmiller said she is one of the ones hauling things from the donation room to the sales floor. A Queen Anne silverware chest has come in, and there is also a headboard, she said. Another nonprofit stopped by to donate things it didn’t sell at its recent sale.

Booher stressed this is antiques, collectibles and home decor. She said it was Polly Morgan who had the vision to start the sale decades ago. She and husband Earl have donated countless hours, Booher said.

Tinkerers, collectors, those who love to repurpose items, thrifty shoppers and decorators will all find interesting things ready for second chances, these organizers said.

“We have fun,” Booher said. It’s a way to recycle and the money goes back to the community.”