Another Legion yard sale has come and gone! Financially, it was one of our best yet! I really want to thank all the volunteers who helped Friday and Saturday … especially Friday!

Two big thanks go to Ralph Smith and the Railway Village Museum. Ralph has provided us with two big event tents every year, and we couldn’t hold these events without his generosity. Seems like each year we have had to deal with rain at some point as well.

The Railway Village Museum provided us with the tables. This was especially generous as they had an event the next day and cramped their setup time a little. I can’t say enough about the Legion Auxiliary folks. We started bringing the treasures from the Legion Hall to the Common Friday at 8 a.m. If you remember, last Friday the temperature and humidity were in the danger zone. But they hung in there and got everything organized on the tables so we could be ready at 7 a.m. on Saturday. 

I have to admit, I just had a great time at the food tent! Dr. Doug Long did the hamburger flipping (and hot dog rolling?), while I chit-chatted with everyone while ensuring the right roll went with the right item. That required me to multitask, which I clearly demonstrated I’m not good at.

While we successfully sold most of the items we had, there were still lots of things that didn’t sell. In fact, three trailers are full of items. These trailers go to Miles Thrift Shop in Damariscotta, so only items that were truly trash, and shouldn’t have even been out there in the first place, go to the dump. I should also say that many of the items we had available were the unsold items from the Our Lady Queen of Peace Summer Fair. So, in a way, we were able to give those items another chance to raise money for good causes.

And this week, on Aug. 15, we will remember V-J Day, the day Japan announced its surrender in 1945, effectively bringing World War II to an end. The formal surrender took place a few weeks later aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay. One of our Legion members, Robbie Robinson, witnessed the surrender from the Japanese Battleship Nagato, tied next to it. Actually, he was high up on the mast looking down on the Missouri. I was fortunate to have been able to spend a little time with Robbie before he passed and he shared his experience on that day. 

So, thank you again to everyone who helped make the yard sale such a success. And thank you to everyone who stopped by, bought something, had a hamburger or hot dog, or simply came over to say hi. You helped the Legion raise money that will be used to support veterans and our community. 

Not bad for a couple of days of hard work, hot weather, a few hamburgers and a whole lot of stuff we no longer needed!