Kansas Snapshots by Gloria Freeland - September 19, 2025

Flea-market fun

It was a gorgeous Labor Day - sunny and about 75 degrees. The parking lot was so full, husband Art had to squeeze our car between two of the park's trees.

With some cash and a credit card in my front-left pocket, my phone in my back-right, a pair of sunglasses in hand, and my perky purple hat in place, I was ready!

And so were the hundreds of others already milling about!

The St. Germain, Wisconsin, community was celebrating the end of its 50th season of a flea market hosted by and generating support for the local fire department. It's an every-Monday event from Memorial Day through Labor Day.

We visit at least once during our summer/fall stays at our cottage in Northern Wisconsin, so we’ve attended at least 30 of those 50 seasons. A 2005 column described a previous visit. With 500-plus vendors, this year's conclusion was billed as one of the largest in the Midwest. Brother Dave would have been envious as his hobby is searching for items at auctions and garage sales to add to his various collections.

At the southwest corner near the pavilion, vendors were selling vegetables, flowers, plants, and garden decor on tables set up under shade trees. They are a relatively new addition and Art, who rarely buys anything, is always watching for rhubarb.

Inside the pavilion, some 100 tables had jewelry, books, dishes, children’s clothing, Badger and Packer sweatshirts, leather goods, Christmas ornaments, and more. The food hall at the east end was doing a good business selling bratwursts with all the fixings.

Outside again, we began our northward trek. It's an area that features all manner of "inexpensive” - Art's descriptor is more colorful - tools and kitchen gadgets displayed in large open cardboard boxes. These don't hold much interest for me, so I don't dally.

From there, tents stretched northward and eastward. I'm more of a wanderer, but Art-the-engineer insists on a pattern that assures we see everything. The two parallel paths loosely circle the nearby baseball field. We begin by heading north on the inside one, and return on the other.

I'm always amazed by the variety of goodies - toys, furniture, hand-made pottery, antiques, baskets, original art, aerial photos of area lakes, vintage advertising signs, crystals, clothes, products to ease back pain, and Northwoods-themed decor.

The flea-market "warriors" have carts, wagons, or large bags to haul their purchases. Many folks chat while perusing the merchandise. In general, there's a carnival atmosphere of happy people, except for a few cranky or bored children.

Being in the get-rid-of-it stage of life, I try to be "discerning." A purchase has to be something I really love or what someone else I know would love. Useful items also make the grade. I bought a summer top for myself and a sign with "To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow" for daughter Katie, who likes gardening.

I also purchased a stack of four old children's books tied with brown string with two wooden autumn leaves and a black-and-white photo of a child on top. I love old tomes, and the way they were displayed, well, it broke my resolve. As I said, I try to be discerning, but with fall near, perhaps I can use it as a decoration.

Art once purchased some dental tools for removing corrosion from circuit boards. Then he found his dentist was happy to give him his old ones.

He also buys dark maple syrup. A few years back, he purchased a "new" - circa 1970 - bait box for fishing. It replaced one he used since childhood that had rusted through.

Another year, some century-old black-and-white German photo postcards spoke to him. But why? Research revealed they were all taken in or near the one-street village of Rieplos, where the sender was staying while writing greetings to a relative in Chicago. Our late friend Bärbel, who lived 12 miles away, was amazed Art recognized a place he had seen years before. Its one-and-only gästhaus looked almost unchanged when we visited this spring.

Nothing prompted him to pull out his wallet this year, but we both enjoyed contemplating the options offered by the food vendors bunched at about the three-quarters point of the trek. Brats, burgers, Reubens, gyros, waffles, tacos, salads, popcorn and more tempted us. An Amish couple's specialties were "fried pies" and homemade ice cream made in a freezer powered by an old-fashioned John Deere "putt-putt" engine. Art was amused by the engine, so eating was secondary.

Not for me! I was hungry, so the only thing that was going to amuse me was food. I bought him a Reuben sandwich and a veggie gyro for me from “"Harka's Best Gyros." Harka's has been at the market for years. I know, because I gravitate to their stand.

Picnic-table seating shaded by the tall trees was at a premium, so we shared one with three others and eavesdropped - a favorite pastime.

We stayed for a while, observing people and their pets. Dalmatians, beagles, St. Bernards and other breeds were among the dogs that trotted by. One year, I saw a man with a bearded dragon sitting atop its master's shoulder. It was so still I had to look several times to make certain the lizard was alive.

After downing our flea-market food, we worked back toward the car. Several vendors shouted, "See you next year!" to their neighbors as they packed items away into pickups, cars, or vans.

By the time we left, the crowd was thinning. I don't know how successful the 50th had been for the vendors and the fire department, but it certainly had been fun for us!