Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Busy weekend in Sunshine

The garage sale

Merchandise for the garage sale

We had a very busy weekend in Sunshine.  On Saturday there were two events going on.  Saturday was the community wide garage sale.  So many people helped.  Mary organized and was in charge of the event.  Beth and MaryAnn worked for three + days on the event.  Their expertise was very valuable.  The room was well organized and MaryAnn should get an award for add-on sales.  If an item was marked a dollar, she would charge 75 cents and send you back to find an item that sold for 25 cents.  She moved a bunch of stuff!  We set up the garage sale in Station #1.  Although the rebuild after the fire is not yet complete, we were able to use the structure. 

stuff, stuff and more stuff

Merchandise was brought in Thursdaynight and all day Friday.  The sale began just before 9AM Saturday morning.  I started the day by purchasing a shot glass for my collection.  Things wound down by 4PM.  We raised about 1/5th the amount we need for the electrical hook-up.

 

The Arts and Craft Fair

Inside the school house

The Annual Sunshine Arts and Craft Fair was also very successful.  This is an annual event used to raise money for the upkeep of the school house and cemetery.  the event runs for two days, usually the 3rd weekend in September.  There were people in attendance the whole time the doors were open.  June was there, selling her book, Stories of Sunshine, a great book about the history of our little community.  We had other vendors selling jewelry, stationary, Christmas ornaments, soap, artwork, gold ore samples (from a local mine) and, of course, cakes and cookies.  We shut down around 4PM on Sunday.  Each year the sales increase.  This was our 14th year.

 

June selling her book about Sunshine, Colorado

 

Shoppers

I guess I should explain what happened and why we are trying to raise money for the electrical hook-up.  Although separate, the fire department and the school house / cemetery association have always worked closely together.  The School was build in 1900.  It originally had a wood burning stove but no electricity.  Sometime in the recent past, some neighbors ran an electrical connection from the firehouse (station #1) to the school house.  Lights and an outlet were installed.  Although not up to code (the cable was attached to live trees) it worked well.  That is until the heater in station #1 caught on fire and burnt the building to the ground.  the power company, when responding to the fire, disconnecting the hook-up to both the fire station and the school house.  We would like to re-connect the electrical hook up and have it be to code.

Without the electrical hook-up, we have heat but no lights in the school house.  With this configuration, the school house can only be used during day light hours.  In the past, the Halloween party, new Years celebration and other event have been held there, many at night.  We are now relying on private homes instead of our community center.  For the craft fair, we ran a rather long extension cord from the contractors hook-up to the school house.  It worked but I don't know how safe it was.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

before you know it you will have electric:) have a good week:) how goes the job?

Deb

Anonymous said...

I'm glad your events went well, they look great.
I would love to read that book about Sunshine!
Be Well
Ellen

Anonymous said...

Hope you manage to raise sufficient funds in short order to get a safe electrical connection, David. Did you say "book"? Is it for sale on-line?

Anonymous said...

I enjoy reading about what is going on in your part of the world ~ Hope you get your electrical hookup ~ Ally

Anonymous said...

Sounds like a fun weekend in Sunshine :)

Kara

Anonymous said...

I love hearing about the community events around you. Your community is wonderful the way people come together to work toward a common goal. I truly wish my own neighborhood was as concienious of one another as your is. Thanks once again for sharing. (Hugs) Indigo

Anonymous said...

I would have had a field day at both events!!  Looks like a lot of great finds..  Glad you found something to add to your shot glass collection!  Hope you were able to raise a lot of money.

::smiles::

Michelle

Anonymous said...

both look like so much fun the community garage sale is this weekend in my moms area
may have to see if i can find anything good in those ;) never know the treasures you can find
take care
:)
emily

Anonymous said...

Hey David !!!!!!!!!!

I wish me and my family could have been there for the garage sale we love love love love love love love them. I sure would have liked to have been there at the Arts and Craft Fair. I know I would have bought a ton of stuff and I would have liked meeting you in person. I wish I could have a copy of that book "Stories of Sunshine" I would love to read it. I would also have liked buying some of that stationery and Christmas ornaments and artwork.

Thanks again for sharing your life and goings on in Sunshine, Colorado with us. Tak care David.