Collectors can find rare items at an Everett estate sale

The serious ones sign up a day in advance.

They’re in line early and have a good idea what they’re seeking.

At a recent estate sale in Everett, the line to get in wrapped from the back yard down the driveway. The sale was the first of two, beginning with the husband’s belongings.

Bob Husak and Lauren Takores, both from Seattle, were among the early crowd of collectors allowed inside. Husak sells records and helps replenish his stash at estate sales.

“We go every weekend,” Takores said.

As she talked, Husak held up an album, noting that one of the wives of Playboy legend Hugh Hefner was on the cover.

“He knows things like that,” Takores said of Husak.

Most of the early shoppers at this estate sale, however, were not there for the records.

The belongings were of a couple who had emigrated from Germany. The husband was a pilot in training for the German Luftwaffe during World War II, who later worked for Volkswagen and then for Boeing for 35 years. His wife ran a dress-making shop; her belongings are being sold at a sale beginning May 3.

Chris Foss, of Seattle’s Foss Appraisal Service, thought the variety of items the couple owned made for a good estate sale. The appraisal company holds only one or two similarly sized sales each year.

Hundreds of books, many on World War II or military history, were lined up on shelves in the den and filling the garage. One of the rare books on hand: a copy of “Code of Virginia” published in 1860. The book contains slavery laws in Virginia and was published a year before the Civil War erupted. Each of its previous owners had signed the book, which was priced at $200.

Photos from dozens of Boeing Co. plane deliveries filled boxes. A case with Boeing belt buckles sat in the kitchen. German invasion maps from World War II sold for $50 each.

“Boeing (collectibles) we see a fair amount of,” Foss said. “Not so much on the Third Reich.”

Sorting through a box of postcards, Brenda Treser remarked, “the postcards are going to be in order at my estate sale.”

Treser, who lives in Bothell, isn’t as serious about attending estate sales as many in attendance. She and her daughter, Rebeccah, have been going to sales for a few years. Mostly Treser looks for postcards from places she has been, tea cups and broaches.

At the Everett sale, Treser found several postcards and an album from the 1962 World’s Fair in Seattle.

“Somehow, all this comes home and gets put away,” she said.

Marty Fredrickson attends estate sales to pick up items for Odyssey Coins &Collectibles in Everett. The shop specializes in military collectibles. He sees a lot of the same people, those interested in military items, at estate sales around the Puget Sound area.

Fredrickson thinks it would be wrong to make assumptions about the kind of person an individual was based on his or her estate sale. Looking through the Everett man’s belongings, “I wish I could have met him,” Fredrickson said.

The second part of the estate sale takes place May 3. For more information, go to fossappraisal.com.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

Trader Joe’s customers walk in and out of the store on Monday, Nov. 20, 2023 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
New Trader Joe’s opens this week at Everett Mall

It’s a short move from a longtime location, essentially across the street, where parking was often an adventure.

Ian Bramel-Allen enters a guilty plea to second-degree murder during a plea and sentencing hearing on Wednesday, March 6, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Deep remorse’: Man gets 17 years for friend’s fatal stabbing in Edmonds

Ian Bramel-Allen, 44, pleaded guilty Wednesday to second-degree murder for killing Bret Northcutt last year at a WinCo.

Firefighters respond to a small RV and a motorhome fire on Tuesday afternoon in Marysville. (Provided by Snohomish County Fire Distrct 22)
1 injured after RV fire, explosion near Marysville

The cause of the fire in the 11600 block of 81st Avenue NE had not been determined, fire officials said.

Ashton Dedmon appears in court during his sentencing hearing on Tuesday, March 5, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Everett Navy sailor sentenced to 90 days for fatal hit and run

Ashton Dedmon crashed into Joshua Kollman and drove away. Dedmon, a petty officer on the USS Kidd, reported he had a panic attack.

A kindergarten student works on a computer at Emerson Elementary School on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘¡Una erupción!’: Dual language programs expanding to 10 local schools

A new bill aims to support 10 new programs each year statewide. In Snohomish County, most follow a 90-10 model of Spanish and English.

Cassie Franklin, Mayor of Everett, delivers the annual state of the city address Thursday morning in the Edward D. Hansen Conference Center in Everett, Washington on March 31, 2022.  (Kevin Clark / The Herald)
At Everett mayor’s keynote speech: $35 entry, Boeing sponsorship

The city won’t make any money from the event, city spokesperson Simone Tarver said. Still, it’s part of a trend making open government advocates wary.

Logo for news use featuring the Tulalip Indian Reservation in Snohomish County, Washington. 220118
Woman drives off cliff, dies on Tulalip Reservation

The woman fell 70 to 80 feet after driving off Priest Point Drive NW on Sunday afternoon.

Everett
Boy, 4, survives fall from Everett fourth-story apartment window

The child was being treated at Seattle Children’s. The city has a limited supply of window stops for low-income residents.

People head out to the water at low tide during an unseasonably warm day on Saturday, March 16, 2024, at Lighthouse Park in Mukilteo, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Everett shatters record high temperature by 11 degrees

On Saturday, it hit 73 degrees, breaking the previous record of 62 set in 2007.

Snohomish County Fire District #4 and Snohomish Regional Fire & Rescue respond to a motor vehicle collision for a car and pole. The driver was pronounced dead at the scene, near Triangle Bait & Tackle in Snohomish. (Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office)
Police: Troopers tried to stop driver before deadly crash in Snohomish

The man, 31, was driving at “a high rate of speed” when he crashed into a traffic light pole and died, investigators said.

Alan Dean, who is accused of the 1993 strangulation murder of 15-year-old Bothell girl Melissa Lee, appears in court during opening statements of his trial on Monday, March 18, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
31 years later, trial opens in Bothell teen’s brutal killing

In April 1993, Melissa Lee’s body was found below Edgewater Creek Bridge. It would take 27 years to arrest Alan Dean in her death.

Logo for news use featuring the municipality of Snohomish in Snohomish County, Washington. 220118
Man dies after crashing into pole in Snohomish

Just before 1 a.m., the driver crashed into a traffic light pole at the intersection of 2nd Street and Maple Avenue.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.