Major Neal Nickles (retired) and his wife Myrann, met and married at Knox Presbyterian Church in Stratford, Ontario. After a peripatetic life in the Canadian military, that took the Nickles to assignments in five provinces and overseas, the couple made a well-considered decision to retire in Goderich, so they would be near elderly mothers in Stratford. That was in 1994 and since then the Nickles have been members of Knox Presbyterian Church in their chosen town.
Thinking back over a life-time in the Presbyterian fold, Neal’s earliest memories are Mission Band and the WMS collecting “bales” of clothing for the missions in Formosa (now Taiwan), an Asian island that endured a period of terror after World War II. He also recalls one evening, in 1962, when S-E-X was to be the topic of discussion at Young People’s after a talk by a local biology teacher who was also a church member. “There was great consternation in the congregation and the session had to okay this programme,” Neal says. The sex evening went ahead and, yes, the teens did learn a thing or two.
Fast forward to 2006 when Neal was instrumental in launching Knox’s Mega Sale. Neal explains he copied the concept from a sale that Knox Stratford used to have. That sale is no more but, in Goderich, the Mega Sale is now an “institution.”
At the start, the Mega Team decided to “piggy-back” its sale on Goderich’s annual Celtic Roots Festival. Thus, this year, the Mega Salefalls on Saturday, August 10, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
“ Although the church door does not open until nine, by 8 a.m., there’s over 200 people lined up, “ Neal says.“When the door opens, it’s like the running of the bulls – Goderich style.”
Neal admits it was a bit of a struggle to have the concept accepted in Goderich, but that’s history. Using skills, learned as an army officer, Neal structured the sale as a series of shops, over-seen by a group of volunteers who act as “autonomous” shop-keepers. Shopkeepers are responsible for recruiting their own helpers and setting prices. But ultimately everyone, on the Mega Team (about 100 souls strong), has a common goal – to make money for the church.
To date, the net profit for the annual Mega Sales (over 7 years) has been about $74,000. “Our goal is to break $100,000 within the next three years,” Neal says.
The whole shebang is organized with two, one-hour meetings– one in May and another in July. At the May meeting, the Mega Team discusses the “division of the spoils” from the previous year. Habitually, 75 percent of the profits go into the church’s current account and the rest is given to causes such as food banks and Camp Kintail, a Presbyterian facility on Lake Huron.
Because Knox is a large edifice with many rooms, it’s easy to set up individual “shops” devoted to specific stuff. For example there is an electronics shop, a furniture shop and a book and media shop. The main room (covered with Knox’s famous plaid carpet) houses three shop including ladies’ clothing and bedding. There’s also a bake shop and a cafe offering coffee and muffins, made from Myrann’s special recipe. The sale also features a flea market, full of odd objects and a gallery where coat hooks, in the basement, are used to hang art. Also plants are sold in the parking and the best donations are culled for a silent auction. This year, there’s something new – a shop selling vintage clothing.
Everyone, in town, is encouraged to keep a Knox Box and to fill it, with saleable stuff, throughout the year. Neal has organized a mega pick-up team that collects these boxes along with furniture, appliances and heavy equipment.
On sale day, after the buying frenzy, a clean-up squad swoops in and, by 3:30, every floor is clean, unsold items, packed for delivery to agencies such as Evangel Hall, the Salvation Army and St. Vincent de Paul. All the garbage goes into a dumpster and the cardboard is broken down for re-cycling.
Post sale, Neal writes an “after-action report” that is discussed at a Pot Luck for the volunteers. This event is a chance to discuss changes, improvements and successes. It goes almost without saying, in Neal’s book, organization + work = success.
By the way, visitors to Knox’s Mega Sale may want to check out Neal’s Seville Orange Marmalade, on sale, at the bake table.
Neal’s Seville- Orange Marmalade
(N.B. Seville oranges are usually available January & February.)
Makes 8 cups
5 medium Seville oranges (3 cups of prepared fruit)
2½ cups water or 50/50 orange juice
1/8 tsp baking soda
6 cups sugar
1 pouch liquid Certo (pectin)
½ tsp butter (Butter reduces foaming.)
METHOD
Remove orange skins in quarters. Lay (skin) quarters flat. Shave off half of the white part (pith).
With a sharp knife or scissors, slice or chop the rind finely. (Alternatively, use spring-loaded kitchen shears to get a fine shred.)
Put the cut rinds, in a large covered saucepan. Add water (or orange juice & water) and baking soda. Bring it all to a boil. Lower heat. Simmer covered, for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Section or chop peeled fruit. Discard seeds. Add 3 cups of prepared fruit and its juice to the undrained cooked rind. Add sugar and mix well. Cover the saucepan and bring to a boil.
Add butter and stir constantly. When mixture returns to a boil, stir in Certo. Bring to a rolling boil and cook for 1 minute. Remove from heat.
Stir and skim foam, for 5 minutes, to prevent fruit from floating.
Quickly fill warm Mason jars to ¼ inch from the top. Seal, while hot.
