November 6, 2002
Library leftovers raise funds for Heritage Center
Buyers snatch up wooden bookcases, vintage chairs, old steel shelving
By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
The Library Leftovers Sale had a little something for everyone.
Held Saturday at a warehouse on the former Traverse City State Hospital grounds, the sale featured everything from office furniture and equipment to magazine racks and card catalogues. Also for sale were old wooden Traverse City Street signs, children's tables and chairs and shelves galore - with many sizes, shapes and styles.
Old lamps, clocks, luggage, bookends, a manual typewriter and even a large portrait of former governor Bill Milliken were also up for grabs.
Culled from the old Traverse City Area District Library building on Sixth Street, now the Grand Traverse Heritage Center, sale items drew more than 300 people throughout the day.
Cathy Adams of Traverse City was thrilled to drive away with a nearly five-foot high, multi-tiered magazine rack. With visions of her childrens' coloring books neatly arrayed on the shelves, she came back a second time to buy it, realizing this was a must-have purchase.
"I've been looking for something like this for a long time," said Adams, who plans to paint the rack with a childhood theme. "They have so many coloring books and how-to drawing books and they all just get stacked in a pile. This will help organize them."
Mike Nickels left the sale with an array of shelving units for his church, Feast of Victory Lutheran in Acme, and some vintage chairs for himself. Wandering through the old warehouse, looking over the items, brought back memories for the East Bay Township resident.
"My dad was assistant superintendent at the hospital when I was little," said Nickels, who lived with his family in housing on the grounds. "This used to be the Occupational Therapy building."
The Library Leftovers sale was a fund-raiser for Friends of Con Foster, bringing in $1,971 for the organization.
Ann Hoopfer, executive director of the Grand Traverse Heritage Center, said the idea of a sale took root recently after realizing there was no room for most of the tables, shelves and other library fixtures left behind when the library moved to its new location in 1998. After storing the items for more than a year in three semi-trailers, Hoopfer said they had to let them go.
Some things were hard to part with, though.
"Some of the junior chairs were original with the library," said Hoopfer, referring to the Carnegie building's origins in 1906. "They don't stack and how often would we use them with children? I hate to see them go but with us wanting to rent the meeting room they are just not practical, they are too heavy and don't fold."
Lines formed before 9 a.m. Saturday morning, as eager bargain hunters queued up in the cold. Herman Miller tables and chairs from the 1960s were snapped up quickly as were some original wooden bookcases from the library. Wooden Traverse City street signs also did a brisk business.
Kris McLain of Traverse City was pleased with her obscure find: sheets of fake pressed tin ceiling. Walking out with ten sheets, she said it was just right for her kitchen.
"I'm going to put these up as a back splash," said McLain, who dusted off her bargaining skills to negotiate a better price. "I thought it would be unique, the idea just struck me when I saw them."
Benzonia resident Steve Dragoo arrived too late to pick up the wooden shelves he was after. Instead, the former teacher took home 60 steel bookends for his extensive book collection. His visit Saturday morning revived memories of the State Hospital.
"My grandmother died here in the mid-1960s," he said. "In 1954 there was a baseball diamond down the road here and I played baseball here."
Dragoo is pleased at the ongoing preservation efforts of various buildings and the property, praising the community effort.
"I'm getting to be an old geezer and you like to see old things like this preserved," he noted.
Some freestanding shelving is still available; for more information, call Ann Hoopfer at the Grand Traverse Heritage Center at 995-0313.