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Rummage at The Armory offers practical to preposterous

JANESVILLE — Need a six-foot, framed poster of Chuck Berry?

How about a hat that doubles as a tambourine or a purse that says “Frenchy” in green puffy paint?

All that and more was available at The Armory rummage sale Saturday. The theater organized the first-ever sale to get rid of the odds and ends piling up in its storage area. The sale continues from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. today.

“We’re trying to get rid of some of the stuff that’s been building up that we’re never going to use again,” said Robert Mentele, technical director and facilities manager.

But you know what they say about one man’s junk.

Steve and Julie Servantez, Milton, were delighted to find an Elvis wig.

“We have a friend whose second-grader is the world’s biggest Elvis fan,” Steve explained.

Steve, a hobby photographer, also was looking for portrait props, and Julie picked up some serving dishes.

Tom Elmer and his daughter Samantha drove in from Oregon looking for Halloween decorations and props and costumes for the Oregon Straw Hat Players. Tom was hoping to pick up some beakers used in “Jekyll & Hyde,” but he balked at the price. Instead, he picked up a small Christmas tree, and Samantha grabbed a (presumably fake) skull.

“How can you go wrong with a $5 skull?” Tom said.

There were some practical items, such as drum stands, vases and lots of shoes. Plenty of glassware was available if you didn’t mind that none of it matched.

The glasses are samples sent to the theater when it first opened, Mentele said.

A children’s electric motorbike, standing about a foot off the ground, was for sale for $100. The male lead of “Miss Saigon” was supposed to ride the bike during the final number, but the bike was scrapped at the last minute because it couldn’t turn fast enough, Mentele said.

“Some of the tech crew have been known to ride it,” he said.

Barbara Thompson, Janesville, stopped in on her way to a Jazzercise class to see what she could find. She’s a member of the Beloit Civic Theatre board, but so far she only had picked up things for herself—a green velvet dress and tambourine hat.

“I might just stay here and not go to Jazzercise,” she said with a laugh.