Cokesbury’s white elephant sales

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Forty years of practice has fine-tuned sale weeks. On Wednesday, Cokesbury Village staff members set up dozens of tables in the DuPont Pavilion. Volunteers follow first with labels for the tables and then the actual items. After the sale ends, staff members are invited to take stuff for free for their families. Items remaining are donated, and the pavilion can then return for a few months to its regular uses, including pickleball and exercise classes.

Some items – like china cabinets and large sofas – rarely sell, as younger generations furnish their houses differently and aren’t interested in a lot of stuff (or a place to display it).

So, after a Tuesday morning dedicated to schlepping and sorting, pricing and handling, do all the volunteers head to lunch together? No, Gilligan said, explaining that she’s too tired.