SLA Hawaii-Pacific Chapter Newsletter

April 2004

One Man’s Trash is Another Man’s Treasure
by Lois Kiehl Cain

Once again that old truism has enriched the SLA-HPC coffers and provided a fun time for all participants. The annual driveway sale was held on Saturday, January 31^st at Lois Cain’s “Hibiscus Hotel” in the shadow of Diamond Head. The usual amazing collection of white elephant goodies materialized about 5pm on Friday night, just in time for the setup session.

This year we really had it down pat. Doors and sawhorses were assembled into tables under the carport and a pair of halogen lamps provided visual aid as the sun sank into the Pacific. Without any formal task designations, teams formed automatically - one sorting and displaying the sale items while another prepared pricing signs and tagged the articles according to a conveniently color-coded scheme. Meanwhile another group set up the all-important food and libation area where the teams could break for the “pause that refreshes.” By about 8pm, we were done!

The weather almost sabotaged us this year as heavy rain and a leaky carport roof caused some damage, despite the efforts of the midnight menehune who covered the tables with plastic tarps. But by 6:30 a.m. Saturday when crew members reported for duty laden with yummy breakfast treats, the elements had decided to cooperate. We enjoyed a slightly overcast and very comfortable day, without the usual wilting mid-day sunshine.

Business was brisk and full of bargains:  books, plants, household gadgets, clothing, appliances, CDs and tapes, computer software, a bicycle, and lots more. Despite the incredibly low prices we ended the day $300 richer with a lot of laughs to boot! About 2:00 p.m. we closed up shop and the remainders were boxed up for distribution to various local charities.

Many thanks to all who donated sale items and to those who organized the sale: Susan Johnson, Gwen Sinclair, Lois Cain, Kris Anderson, Catherine Thomas, Stan Schab, Terese Leber, Beth Tillinghast, Franda Liu, Eileen Herring, Phyllis Tabusa, and everyone else who participated. A special thanks to Fleur Stewart for her wonderful signs and strategic posting and to Pic Bye for the tricky assembly of a pair of lawn chairs from an unmarked and instructionless stack of wood pieces.

Remember…it’s not too early to start collecting the trash/treasures for NEXT YEAR!

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