Volunteers ready treasures for Historic Macon flea market

In a warehouse on Oglethorpe Street, price tags dangle off a collection of antique wood dressers, rows of framed photos and old paintings lean against each other, and antique silver and kitchenware adorns several tables.

A maze of shoppers on the hunt for knicknacks, furniture, artwork and more will soon fill the warehouse during the first weekend of October for the Historic Macon Foundation’s semiannual flea market.

Volunteers began cleaning, organizing and pricing items months ago. Around 60 individuals contribute their time to weekly cleanups, warehouse inventorying and donation collection.

Some years there are more donations than others, and most come from estate sales or people looking to downsize. All the proceeds go toward the foundation’s preservation efforts.

Most shoppers don’t realize how much preparation goes into hosting the flea market each season, Historic Macon’s Oby Brown said. They see all the items displayed, but they don’t know that they came from someone’s attic or basement, covered in dust and dirt, he added.

Kathy Griffis has volunteered at the flea market for more than 30 years. She’s done everything from check-out to holding customers’ items. She already knows that she’ll be back in January to volunteer for the spring flea market.

This year, she’s surrounded by polished silver and crystal glasses. 

“If a young couple is starting out new, or somebody’s going to college in an apartment or somebody’s through college setting up a place to live, this would be the place to come,” Griffis said. 

She sees some of the same shoppers every year — even some friends from church who come from Milledgeville just to peruse the market.

“You never know what you’re going to find,” she said. 

Sometimes there are so many donations that they have to be tucked away in the warehouse’s overhead storage.

Another volunteer, Betty Sweet Ladson, said she feels fortunate that folks bring items that once meant a lot to them, which is why volunteers like herself make sure to take good care of all the items. 

“I have been doing this longer than I can remember and enjoying it every minute,” she said. “Most of us that come down here love it.”

Seeing what treasures find their way to the warehouse is Ladson’s favorite part. She pointed to a vintage toy horse, which she remembers from her childhood.

“I hope somebody comes down that will treasure him as much as the family that brought him to us,” she said of the horse.

There are other items that Ladson doesn’t even have a name for, like a massive metal monument that once sat in someone’s front yard.

“I don’t know where you would find one of those other than right here,” she said.

Volunteer Sue Bullington said one individual brought in an original window from Wesleyan College.

Ladson and Bullington have a backlog of stories memorized about each treasure, and they try to keep any notes that come with the donations in an effort to keep the stories behind each item alive. 

“We love the stories that come with the donations,” Bullington said.

The flea market runs from Oct. 3-5 downtown at 357 Oglethorpe St. 

There will be a ticketed preview party Oct. 3, the day before the market opens to the general public. The preview party runs from 5-8 p.m. and includes food and libations. Reserve tickets online at bit.ly/46836dw.

The sale is open to the public with free entry from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 4, and noon to 4 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 5.

Historic Macon members get 15% off their purchases.