Savvy shoppers find bargains at Trash to Treasure sale

Lauren Boyer

UNIVERSITY PARK— Donna Huser found a dirty sock and plastic fork wedged between the flesh-colored cushions of the $30 recliner she bought for her son, David, a Penn State junior.

“I was looking for change, but I didn’t find any,” said Huser, of Philipsburg.

Huser joined hundreds of shoppers at the ninth annual Trash to Treasure sale Saturday at Beaver Stadium, which raised about $56,600 for the Centre County United Way.

When the gate opened at 7:30 a.m., the barrage of bargain hunters wrapped from Gate C past the Penn State All-Sports Museum to the Joe Paterno statue.

Penn State sophomore Josh Sherry arrived on scene at 1 a.m. with visions of a quasi-new sofa and arrangements to lug it home.

“I brought a truck, and I brought this kid right here,” Sherry said of his muscled friend, 6-foot-2 Cornell University sophomore Emmitt Terrell.

After attending Trash to Treasure for three years, Terrell said there’s one aspect he still can’t wrap his head around.

“I saw underwear once. Why would you buy someone else’s underwear?” he asked, peering through the metal fence gate. “That’s kind of messed up.”

Penn State students donated most of the 67 tons of used goods, breaking last year’s record of 63 tons.

Those items, spared from landfills, included 120 TV sets, 30 sleeping bags from the Penn State Outdoor Club, sporting goods, 24 new yoga mats, bikes, lamps, furniture, carpets, electronics, computer bags, kitchen appliances and clothing.

Due to stadium restorations taking place next summer, Penn State Athletics told the charity to find a new location for next year’s sale, said United Way spokeswoman Pam Long.

United Way held its first Trash to Treasure sale in the Agricultural Arena in 2002. Ever since, the sale has taken place in the stadium.

The organization is scoping out other venues on campus, Long said.

Terre Fetterolf, of Milheim, couldn’t explain her purchase of a $10 tan, wood fireplace mantel as she loaded it into a pickup truck.

“My husband will be thrilled,” she said.

Some shoppers have it down to a science.

At their sixth Trash to Treasure sale, Debbie Corson, of Mill Hall, and her friend, Jen Mantzoros, of Lock Haven tried on pants under their skirts, avoiding the cramped bathroom stall dressing rooms.

“I get my whole wardrobe here,” Corson said. “If I won the lottery last week, I’d still come. It’s just worth it.”

Amazed, Rose Pollard, a State College Area High School senior, salvaged a Tufts University sweatshirt from a mountain of assorted attire. Tufts is where she’ll start school this fall.

Pollard’s friend and State College classmate, Emma Gregory, regretted not bringing something to carry items collected for the Penn State dorm room she’ll call home in August.

“We’re such noobs. We didn’t know how to do this,” said Gregory, her hands full of merchandise.

“We wanted to camp out, but our parents wouldn’t let us.”

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