The Flea Market Life

By Rachel Norberg 

 

Gary Hill and his neighbor at the Grafton Flea market sit  next to each other at tables, the same spot they’ve been for four years.   Around them, the market is packed to the walls with vendors at tables separated by sheets strung around the auditorium-sized space.  There is a sense of camaraderie at the market developed over years.  Hill and Bushley are no exception.

Customers leave Bushley’s table with an arm-full of books.  Bushley tells them he is out of plastic bags.  He points them in Hill’s direction. Hill hands them a plastic bag.  Look at my selection of canvas book bags, he says, “only 3 for a dollar!”  Customers often buy the bags, then peruse the rest of the selection, picking up small items they would have overlooked.

“It’s all about reeling them in to your table,” Hill says.  “I know from experience that this is how the customer works. Lots of times people aren’t looking for something specific, but if you give them a good enough deal, they’ll pretty much buy anything.”

The Grafton Flea Market is a popular spot in the area.  There are two sections: the outdoor and indoor table areas.

Customers line up at the entrance at 6 a.m. to be the first to arrive at the indoor portion of the market.  The outdoor market runs from March to November and has the feel of a large yard sale.  The indoor market resembles a cheap convenience store, where you can find anything from a deck of cards to unused army toys.  One vendor sells packs of gum and old-time candy while his neighbor specializes in cassette tapes (Michael Jackson is the special today).

Gary Hill has lived in Grafton for 10 years.  He moved back in with his mother at age 30 when she was diagnosed with breast cancer, and became the sole heir of her small estate when she passed away one year later.  Along with the house, Hill inherited the keys to a small storage space, and all the contents inside.

 He didn’t realize it at the time, but Hill had found his hidden passion.

During the year before his mother died, the two woke up early Sunday mornings and attended Mass at St. Mary’s Church.  Afterwards, they would head to the Grafton Flea Market to find treasures hidden among the three acres of vendors.  The Sunday morning outings became a tradition, and after his mother died, Gary continued to go to the market on Sunday mornings.

“Those mornings were the highlight of my week,” Hill said.  “Even if we didn’t buy anything, there was so much to see, and so many people to watch.”

When his mother died, Hill spent four months cleaning out her house, selling various knick-knacks at yard sales.  When he finished, he took a week-long vacation to Florida to prepare for the clean-out of the storage space.  He returned from Florida and, armed with boxes and trash bags, he headed to Worcester to see what was in storage. 

When he opened the door, he could not believe his eyes.  Boxes of books, a bedroom set, framed paintings of fruit.  He walked into the middle of the room, and was surrounded by his mother’s old treasures.    

“There must have been 50 crystal vases,” Hill said.  “They were too beautiful to throw away, but I had no space for them.  That’s when it hit me.”

Hill never considered buying a space at the flea market until then.  He never had anything to sell.   Now, he was more than prepared to begin the journey.  Hill called to reserve a space for next Sunday morning.

Hill has been there since.

“I started selling my mom’s old items.  It took about a year for everything to go, but I was hooked way before then.”

When Hill ran out of his mother’s items, he began to browse local yard sales.  He looked for large items that were cheap, and could be sold at the flea market for profit.

“I didn’t make much money, but it wasn’t about that anyway.  I had a full-time job, and some money left over from the inheritance.  It was, and still is about the things you find and the people you meet.”

Thousands of people mull through the items in the indoor flea market, arms full of other people’s junk that has now become their own treasure.  For $5, a man walks out with the DVD box-set of the Rocky movies.  For $3, a woman leaves with a new scarf and matching pair of gloves.  For $10, a boy rides out ahead of his running mother on a used Razor scooter. 

There are no limits to what you might find at the Grafton Flea Market, and no one knows this better than Gary Hill.

 The second Sunday Hill and his mother had gone to the market he bought a watch from a man selling some of his wife’s jewelry.  The watch had made it into the pile by mistake, but he agreed to sell it to Hill for $7.

“He said it was a knock-off Rolex that he had found in his restaurant.  Someone left it at their table, but had never come back to reclaim it.  He had worn it once, and hadn’t even noticed it was missing.”

Hill wore the watch every day for the next year until his brother-in-law bought himself a new Rolex and was showing it off at Thanksgiving dinner.  Hill thought it looked exactly like his.  He decided to bring it to a jeweler to verify its authenticity.

“When the dealer told me I had bought a $1,000 dollar watch for seven dollars, I couldn’t believe it.  I could have sold the watch back and made some decent money, but I like to wear the watch as a reminder.  And it doesn’t hurt that it looks so good!”

All those years of uncovering treasure has paid off for Hill.  Although he can’t quit his job, when he retires he is looking forward to devoting his full attention to his favorite pastime, and his favorite memory of his mother.

http://www.graftonflea.com/

http://www.americantowns.com/ma/grafton-information

Personal Interview with Gary Hill