Organizers think event at least matched 2010; will fund various projects at the school
By Mike McGann, Editor, UnionvilleTimes.com
Shoppers pour through books at the annual Unionville High School Used Book sale.
EAST MARLBOROUGH — By Saturday afternoon, just after the start of the Unionville High School Used Book Sale, it was wall-to-wall people filling the high school gym, looking to fill a bag full of books in the final, sometimes frenetic, two hours of the sale.
In other words, it was a pretty typical ending to the school’s Parent Teacher Organization’s biggest fundraiser of the year.
A day earlier, long checkout lines snaked around the gym, as those willing to pay a bit more for the cream of the crop waited to buy books on per-book basis. Saturday? Families from Unionville — and way beyond, as several buyers come from out of state for the event — bought their $8 bags (which, now, by the way are excellent for reuse as grocery shopping bags) and were set loose on the remaining stacks.
During the final two hours on Saturday, buyers could take as many books as fit in the navy blue bags, and some shoppers were creative in working to fit the maximum amount of titles possible. Kids were tucked in corners, repacking their bags, looking for elusive space to add just one more book to their afternoon’s booty.
Despite the apparent chaos, everything went very smoothly, and again it appeared that the PTO would match last year’s take of about $38,000, said Leah Gover, chair of the UHS Used Book Sale.
And as has been the case for many years, the funds will be used to improve student and educational experiences, funding a number of teacher-suggested projects, from buying additional scientific instruments not in the school district budget, new gear for the school’s Internet radio station and a host of other worthy projects.
A flock of parents and high school students were on hand, assisting and managing the event. As books began to dwindle later on Saturday, students gradually began condensing tables, and opening space up in the gym.
Meanwhile, various school groups, ranging from the staff of The Indian Post — the school’s student newspaper — to the baseball team were selling various items, mostly food, to raise money for their organization.
