TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Sale Offers Trash Or Treasures

JIM REED/The Tampa Tribune

Becky Dendrinos, center, sells some of her Christmas collectables at the Regency Cove's Trash and Treasure event.

ADVERTISEMENT

By MICHAEL H. SAMUELS, The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 5, 2007

REGENCY COVE - Janice Blackburn never has enough stuff.

Even when she's trying to get rid of a lot of it, she's always adding more.

"My mom's a collector of junk," said Kelly Rowe, who watched incredulously as Blackburn bought a television, a rug, a cross, lotion and a wooden angel at The Homes of Regency Cove's Trash and Treasures sale. "She collects too much. She impulse buys too much."

Blackburn was at the event primarily as a seller. She had a table set up with a menagerie of items, from Christmas accessories to clothes, flip-flops, feng shui Lotus chimes and more.

She sold a bunch, helping other residents of the mobile home park walk out with boxes full of the collectibles she had acquired.

"I probably bought her half the table," Rowe said. "Or gave it to her. It's cleansing."

Unlike her mom, she's not a collector.

"The less junk, the less to clean," she said.

Not everything at Regency Cove's event could be considered junk. Elaine Belba was selling handmade pillows, stuffed animals and a variety of antique silverware and jewelry. A lot of it came from a store she and her husband owned in Vermont. They have lived at Regency Cove for six years and the stuff was just taking up space, Belba said.

"We have all kinds of gift items," she said. "They are just odds and ends we had around the house that needed to be moved. I call it downsizing."

Among Belba's piles, Heidi Eggleston found a white stuffed bear for one of her grandchildren.

"I love my grandchildren," she said, hugging the bear covered in a clear plastic bag for safekeeping. "It's cuddly."

The park holds the sale twice a year, said Mary Willsey, president of its activities group, Club Regency. The February sale is busier because more seasonal residents are at the park near Gandy and West Shore boulevards.

There were 16 tables set up for Thursday's sale, with residents paying $5 a table.

For $3, attendees could get a lunch of sloppy Joes or hot dog with two sides. Drinks were 50 cents, as were cakes and pastries.

Proceeds from table fees and food sales help pay for park activities. The residents keep the money from the items sold.

Anything left over will be trucked to Port Tampa United Methodist Church, Willsey said.

Regency Cove works with the church to donate food, toys and clothes during the holidays, said Mary Lou Mittel, the park's activities director.

"Because we do not have garage sales, we really do empty out our treasures here," Mittel said.

Reporter Michael H. Samuels can be reached at (813) 835-2109 or msamuels@tampatrib.com.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT