Three Random Finds in Montgomery

It was a rainy day in Montgomery, but that didn't stop the treasure hunters from searching for a few good deals. The brave ventured out late Friday morning when the sky cleared up and they found scattered garage sales in lieu of rainstorms. 

I thought it would be fun to explore a few Montgomery sales on the second day of the village-wide garage sale weekend. I stopped at three sales in the Orchard Prairie North subdivision off of Rt. 30 in Montgomery. I asked the homeowners who were manning the sales if we could play a little game; I'd pick out something from their wares on display and they'd tell me the story behind it. Yay! Everyone was up for the fun.

I first stopped at Jenny and Ed Bobo's place. Jenny and her friend were set up in the garage and had made about $20 after being open for about an hour. Jenny took a quick break from feeding her two-year-old daughter to tell me the story behind a set of glass oil and vinegar bottles that came paired in a stainless steel stand. 

The bottles were a gift from her bridal shower in 2006. Jenny, from Glendale Heights originally, says, "I don't put stuff in bottles anymore." Jenny, an occupational therapist in Naperville, keeps things like oil and vinegar in the containers they were purchased in. Seems like a practical choice for the soon-to-be mom of two. 

Second stop is around the corner at Jana Lavigne's sale. Lavigne was still setting her sale up just before noon in her driveway with the help of two of her three sons. She said they weren't going to have the sale due to the rain, but her sons encouraged her after they saw some neighbors having sales. 

Lavigne, a preschool teacher and current stay-at-home mom, has lived in Montgomery for 14 years. I asked her about an eye-catching three-piece pirate outfit. She said that it was her youngest son's Halloween costume when he was about two-years-old. Argh! I should have bought it for my young matey...

Finally, I stopped one street over at Ayako Butolph's busy sale. I asked her if she would like to play along and she was thrilled. She suggested that I pick her crafts covering a table in the back of her garage. So I asked her the story behind the colorful, mostly paper items.

Butolph's friend from Naperville came up with an idea to make crafts and sell them to support American Red Cross Japan relief efforts. So now Butolph and all her friends are doing it. Whoa! Cool!

Butolph, who came to the U.S. from Yokohama, Japan in 1999, and her friends have already raised more than $3,000 for disaster relief back in her home country selling various origami, duct tape wallets and flowers, barrettes, hacky sacks, handmade cards and baked goods. 

"People (in Japan) are still having a hard time and we are trying to help them out," Butolph said. "We can't do anything (in Japan) because we are far away from our country so we are trying to do what we can here."

E-mail Butolph at a_butolph@hotmail.com to inquire about her handmade items to benefit Japan relief.