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St. Joseph the Worker wraps up its flea market event

The weather was hot and steamy but the cool bargains available recently at the church flea market made the trip to St. Joseph the Worker in Orefield worth it.

For $5, you could fill a grocery sized bag with all sorts of things that still crowded the tables as the church’s annual flea market came to a close.

“We start collecting donations the last week of April and stop collecting the last week of June,” said Jessica Mueller, who coordinates the event.

According to Mueller, the flea market is the number one fundraiser for the church with the yearly church festival coming in second.

“The flea market is open during the festival, all three days,” said Mueller, who serves as director of the parish center. “As we open [and] things are still coming in, we continue to sell them all along.”

Tables and tables of wares tempted shoppers with everything from cut glass goblets to golf clubs, and from popular games to holiday décor.

On one of the last days of the flea market, Annika Vercillo was all smiles as she paid for her purchases.

“I’ve got some fabric and a pattern and a potty chair,” she said.

“What we don’t sell goes to Green Drop, from Philadelphia,” Mueller said. “They come with their trucks and take everything to be donated to groups like Salvation Army. We do not save anything except office supplies we can use next year.”

According to Mueller, the success of the flea market depends on the volunteer staff.

“We have about 25 regular volunteers,” she said. “Each item is inventoried, checked out and cleaned before we sell it. Our volunteers get all the credit. It really takes a village.”

“Monsignor Finelli is very supportive of the flea market and festival,” continued Mueller. “He came down daily to greet the volunteers.”

“This could not happen without the volunteers of this parish,” she said.

Lillian Jarrah is one of the volunteers.

“I’m actually a pricer,” she said.

She uses an app on her phone to assist her in determining the cost of each item.

“I look it up and then put a label on the item,” she said.

Mary Rutkowski is another of the many volunteers that unpacks and organizes the thousands of donations collected each year.

“I admire our membership that donate so much and help support the church,” she said.

The flea market has been a church fundraiser for about 45 years, according to Mueller.

“I’ve been running it for the last nine years,” she said, adding that her husband has been fronting the annual festival. “I do it for the church.”

Lillian Jarrah and Mary Rutkowski are two of the volunteer team that staffs the St. Joseph the Worker’s flea market.
Anne Stibitz, Jessica Mueller and Mary Beth Stowe welcome shoppers to the large space where the flea market has been ongoing.
The Vercillo Family joined other shoppers who were checking out with their valued purchases on the last weekend of the flea market.
Press photos by Anna GilgoffMerchandise arranged on tables beckoned shoppers looking for bargains.