Jack Smith was headed out of town when he got a call Thursday morning. The Museum of North Idaho was having a moving sale, he was told.

"You're not going to believe this. They're selling pictures down there, too," the caller said.

Change of plans.

"I got off the highway and came back," Smith said.

It wasn't long before he was holding an early 1940s black and white reproduction photo of Farragut Naval Training Station.

"I'm trying to retire," said Smith, who described himself as a "historical nut," who deals in old photographs. "But I walk in here I want to buy that whole room. I would have, 10 years ago."

Smith was among a handful of people who stopped by the Museum of North Idaho's "once-in-a-lifetime" moving sale at its former home by City Park set to be demolished in June.

Dorothy Dahlgren, the museum's executive director for nearly 40 years before retiring in 2020, spent months with volunteers organizing the sale, which runs from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily through Sunday.

Dahlgren said they had pieces of history from the turn of the century. 

"As the Museum of North Idaho prepares to move, it’s clearing out decades of unique items, duplicate donations, and display materials in a rare public sale," a press release said. "This is a special opportunity for collectors, history buffs, and treasure hunters to own a piece of regional history."

Items for sale include duplicate memorabilia from Boy Scout Jamborees and Farragut Naval Station; historic newspapers, yearbooks and books; antique household items, vintage luggage, globes, ruby red glasses, oak display cases and construction materials and tools.

Prices range from a few bucks to more than $100. A book, "The Coeur d'Alene Mining District," was priced at $150. 

Great Northern Railway calendars were going for $75 each. The asking price on a wood barn pulley was $50, while old tools could be had for $5 to $15.

Museum officials said all artifacts included in the sale were first offered to other museums and they received approval from donors to offer them to the public. 

Proceeds support the continued care and preservation of artifacts at the Museum of North Idaho, which recently moved into its new home at McEuen Park.

Janice and Vernon Nasemento of Post Falls came away with rare finds, including a jar of old square nails used on the old Cataldo Parish House.

They hurried down when they heard about an opportunity to own history that was part of North Idaho.

"We found a few treasures," Janice Nasemento said.

    A wood barn pulley with a $50 price tag is available at the Museum of North Idaho's moving sale.

    A Native American doll is for sale at the Museum of North Idaho's old home on Thursday.
  

    Old pictures rest in boxes at the Museum of North Idaho's moving sale on Thursday.