Bargain hunters flock to ULS barn sale

On Friday, Oct. 5, an anticipated 500 people will pay $10 a ticket to stand under a big tent, waiting for an old school bell to ring. At the sound of the bell, they will make a mad dash into a multiacre complex of barns, metal buildings and tents to shop for bargains in what might be one of the largest charitable barn sales in Wisconsin, if not the Midwest. The promoters of the three-day event said there are tens of thousands of square feet of unique antiques, furniture, housewares, jewelry, clothing, knickknacks and notions, cars and boats, sporting gear, hardware and equipment, toys and games for all ages, and anything else you can think of that would be expected at a giant flea market or barn sale. The event has raised more than $150,000 annually for University Lake School (ULS), a private college-preparatory K-12 school on 180 wooded acres along Vettelson and Nagawicka roads in the City of Delafield. The sale opens to the public at 1 p.m. Friday, continues from 8:30 to 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 6, and 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 7. Bargain hunters fortunate enough to buy one of the 500 VIP passes for $10 will have a one-hour shopping spree Friday and 30 minutes on Saturday before the barn sale is open to the public. More than 700 volunteers There are more than 700 volunteers involved in running the sale. Sixty spend part of their summer from Memorial Day to Labor Day collecting, sorting and pricing the items donated by parents, students, alumni, friends and others in Lake Country, Southeastern Wisconsin, and in some cases, across the country, according to Kim Tornehl, director of institutional advancements for ULS. This year, a 1993 Lincoln Town Car with 60,000 miles, owned by a retired couple in Florida, is likely to be one of the hottest items at the auction held at 1 p.m. Saturday, according to Tornehl. Tornehl said the auction will feature some of the larger, bigger-ticket items including about a dozen boats from canoes to sailboats. But at the core of the barn sale are thousands of treasures, as Tornehl describes them, that attest to the notion that one person's junk can be another's treasure and it is all in the eye of the beholder. Dawn Whiteley is a second-generation volunteer. In her housewares department, there is a hand-painted original M. Hadley ceramic picnic cooler with spigot. A few feet down the crowded aisle is a Goose Island Brewery wooden liquor cart with "Grab a Goose by the neck" painted on one of its side planks. Helen Ring has been a volunteer for 20 years, mostly as director of the men's clothing department, which offers rows and rows of racks of men's suits, sport coats, trousers and shirts. Helen spent part of her summer making sure the length of each sport coat and suit is accurately measured. She said the clothing sells faster if the customer knows the exact measurements of coat arms or pant legs. "It makes all of the difference in the world if the men's coats and pants are measured. It makes it easier for people who are doing the shopping," she said. A sport coat or blazer might cost $5, a suit $8 or $10. Tornehl is confident that the barn sale is the biggest event of its kind in Waukesha County, but she is not sure how in ranks in size in the Midwest or across the county. However, she adds, "I can't imagine that anybody else would do something like this." 50th anniversary It is no coincidence that the 50th anniversary of the barn sale is being celebrated in the same year as the 50th anniversary of the school. The first rummage sale and auction was held at the Hartland Village Hall in 1958 by parents of students in the school's first class who wanted to raise money to equip the school and help its newly hired faculty. "It was held to outfit faculty members who were hired from all over the country to come to Wisconsin," explained Brad Ashley, the 11th headmaster of the school. The school was founded by a group of parents who had moved into Lake Country from Milwaukee in the decade following World War II. They were concerned that the rural public schools could not provide their children with adequate college preparatory courses. Times have changed. ULS is now well-equipped, its teachers are well-compensated, according to Ashley, and the surrounding public school systems are among the best in the state. Most of the $170,000 anticipated from this year's barn sale will help ULS continue to provide a private, independent college preparatory alternative to Lake Country and Waukesha County parents. ULS is one of three private, nonreligious preparatory schools in the Milwaukee Metro area, according to Ashley. Ashley said ULS spends about $18,000 per pupil on its 325 students. Tuition is about $13,000 a year for most of those students. by Kelly Smith, Staff Writer source: http://www.zwire.com