Treasure troves
JOEL MARTIN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 1 year, 6 months AGO
Appraiser Grant Zahajko looks over antiques brought in by local owners at last year’s Frosty Finds Flea Market and Appraisal Fair. This year’s event is Saturday.
COURTESY PHOTO/MOSES LAKE MUSEUM & ART CENTER
Among the treasures brought in by attendees at last year’s appraisal fair was this ceremonial buffalo-skin coat.
A samurai sword was one of the things appraised at last year’s Frosty Finds Flea Market and Appraisal Fair.
Joel Martin has been with the Columbia Basin Herald for more than 25 years in a variety of roles and is the most-tenured employee in the building. Martin is a married father of eight and enjoys spending time with his children and his wife, Christina. He is passionate about the paper’s mission of informing the people of the Columbia Basin because he knows it is important to record the history of the communities the publication serves. | February 18, 2025 3:00 AM
MOSES LAKE — It’s sometimes said that one person’s trash is another’s treasure, but sometimes people have treasures stashed away that they haven’t thought about in years. The Moses Lake Creative District will give those folks a chance to find out from a professional what they really have in that attic.
The second annual Frosty Finds Flea Market and Appraisal Fair will be held at the Moses Lake Civic Center on Saturday. Last year’s event was a smash success, said museum Event Coordinator Jenni Shelton, and this year’s promises to be as well.
“We filled up all of our time slots, and the appraiser loved it so much that day, they committed to coming back this year,” she said. “We are about full for this year. As of 11:30 (Friday) morning, we have eight spots left for the appraisal fair.”
The items are appraised in the Civic Center Auditorium by Davenport-based auctioneer and appraiser Grant Zahajko (pronounced Za-high-ko), who has spent more than 35 years specializing in sports cards and memorabilia, coins, toys, books, artwork, ephemera and antiques, according to his website. Zahajko has also served as an appraiser for the PBS TV show “Antiques Roadshow.”
“Somebody had a really great collection of baskets,” Shelton said. “One of our people who came had a samurai sword. We had a gentleman with a very, very cool ceremonial buffalo coat.”
Along with the appraisal fair, the event will include a flea market chock-full of vendors of all kinds of specialty items, Shelton said. All the vendors are small local dealers; there are no big commercial names, she said. There will be antique dealers, woodworkers, custom leather, crystals and more. The response was so great that the museum had to find additional space, Shelton said.
“We’ll be expanding into the council chambers for the vendor fair,” she said. “We have so many we’ve filled up our avenue.”
This year’s event is a fundraiser for the Moses Lake Creative District, which is a city function administered by the museum staff, Shelton said.
“The Creative District encompasses our downtown area, and it's a way to connect creative businesses and help drive the creative economy,” she said.
Frosty Finds Flea Market and Appraisal Fair
9 a.m.-4 p.m. Feb. 22
Moses Lake Civic Center
401 S. Balsam St.
Appraisal appointments may be made at 509-764-3830
Among the treasures brought in by attendees at last year’s appraisal fair was this ceremonial buffalo-skin coat.
A samurai sword was one of the things appraised at last year’s Frosty Finds Flea Market and Appraisal Fair.ARTICLES BY JOEL MARTIN
Quincy National Night Out scales down
QUINCY — Quincy’s National Night Out was more compact this year, which worked out well, said QPD Sgt. Joe Westby, who’s in charge of event planning for the Quincy Police Department. “National Night Out is a big event, and the fact that we’re able to shrink it up is like a breath of fresh air,” Westby said. “If you're always doing the same thing, it's kind of nice to switch things up and see how it works.” National Night Out took place Thursday on the block of C Street next to the police station, a shift from previous years when it was held at Lauzier Park. The smaller space meant fewer emergency vehicles for children to explore, but it also meant less walking for attendees. Grant County Fire District 5 brought a fire truck, and the Grant County Sheriff’s Office had a patrol boat. Renew, the Grant County behavioral health agency, had a booth and so did Quincy Partnership for Youth. Veterans Operation Creation sang the national anthem, and the Quincy Animal Shelter brought kittens that piled over each other making friends with passersby. As before, the QPD served grilled hot dogs.
Quincy Police retirements leave big shoes to fill
QUINCY — There are some big shoes to fill at the Quincy Police Department. “We’re losing 48 years of experience between them,” Quincy Police Chief Ryan Green said at the retirement party for Capt. Jorge Trujillo and Det. Damon Powell Thursday. Trujillo, who grew up in Sunnyside, has been with QPD for 19 years, he said, coming on as a patrol officer fresh out of the military. From there he served as a field training officer, a detective and finally captain. “I consider him my left-hand man,” Green said. “He runs the operations side of the house … He knows the agency very well, and he knows the community.” Trujillo has some projects around the house to tackle now that he’s retired, he said.
Big fun on a small scale
Wheat Land Communities’ Fair opens Thursday
RITZVILLE — The Wheat Land Communities’ Fair isn’t as big or as flashy as some of the county fairs around central Washington, but the folks who keep it going like it just the way it is. “It’s somewhere you can go and get an old-time traditional feeling, and you’re comfortable letting your kids roam the grounds and experience all that it has to offer,” said Board Member Lori Williams. “It’s more of a feeling than (one) specific thing,” The fair starts Thursday in Ritzville and runs through Sunday. Starting Friday, the 56th Ritzville Rodeo will take place alongside the fair at the rodeo grounds. This year the entertainment budget was expanded, Williams said, to be able to offer more fun that’s covered by the cost of admission. For the kids, there’s face painting, balloon art, Lego crafts, races, contests and games. Children can also ride on a little train towed around the fairgrounds behind a tractor.