Sparkle Week ‘trashed’ by bargain hunters
By: Merle Citron
Sparkle Week has become something of a tradition in Lambertville.
Ellen Pineno, who is the office manager for the Lambertville Area Chamber of Commerce, told me, "You won’t believe this. I got an e-mail from someone who wanted to know where the festival was where the people of Lambertville put things out on the street for free, and people come, look and take."
This year, I’ve had a nagging suspicion that something mysterious happened during our annual revered Sparkle Week. It came and went without the usual sparkle.
"It’s meager pickings out there on the streets," one inveterate trash treasure hunter told me.
No matter where I went, or whom I asked, the answer was the same.
"The quality is definitely down," two seasoned trash sifters told me with assurance. "No one is putting out the good stuff this year."
Finally I went to the best, the "Dumpster diver" herself, Sally Stang of Church Street. Last year, Sally told me, "I live for Sparkle Week."
This year, she said, "My opinion of this year’s Sparkle Week is that it was not so sparkly. I’ve had some crap-tastic Sparkle Weeks in the past when the pickins have been fun and surprising. But, in my opinion, this year was less than crap-tivating."
She’s right. Where piles of throwaway treasures used to line the curbs for all to stop and shop, this season’s throwaways have been less than stellar. I have looked around our streets and found most of them dishearteningly bare, shorn of the usual mountains of trash, clean at a time when they should be filled with potential.
Bereft of the find of a lifetime, dedicated Sparkle Week aficionados are crestfallen. Hopeful trash hunters, including those who traveled from distant places just to sift through our castaways, are stunned this year at the limited, almost non-existent supply. What is one to think about this lackluster showing?
Every once in a while, when she isn’t working, I see Janice Love walking her dog, Stormy.
Janice and her husband, Jeff, have lived on York Street for the past 12 years, although Janice has lived in Lambertville for 21 years. She has worked as a registered nurse for 25 years, the past seven of which have been spent working at The Medical Center at Princeton.
"For many years I worked with the visiting nurses, providing home care. Now I work with home care at Princeton," she told me.
Like so many of us, Janice loves Lambertville.
"I love living here because it’s a town that feels safe. There’s lots to do," she added. "There are many people I enjoy talking with. I like that I can walk to church, the bank and over to St. Andrews for great clothes shopping."
Janice reminded me about the plays that used to be performed at St. Andrews Church.
"I enjoyed being in those plays," she said, "and my husband, Jeff, directed them."
Janice and Jeff have two cats, Casey and Joey.
Talking about plays, April Tierney of North Union Street told me if I missed seeing Lambertville Public School’s production of "The Wizard of Oz" this last Thursday, I missed out on a lot.
According to April, "In ways only known to LPS, they succeeded in not only putting on a great show, but did it using each and every student in each and every class from K-6th grade. I can’t say how fabulous it is to see the kids so excited about performing. The acting, singing and dancing were top-notch, and the set design and costumes were unbelievable."
April said Adam Warwinsky did a great job in his role as mayor of Munchkin City.
"I believe he’d give Mayor Dave a run for his money," she added. "Adam Hoagland was a terrifically funny brave-hearted lion. The entire cast, production crew and staff at Lambertville Public are to be commended for a job well done. Let’s hope this becomes a yearly tradition!"
Way to go, LPS!
How nice to see Scott Worthington.
I haven’t seen much of him since he retired from the Lambertville Post Office. Now I get to see him when I shop at Clemens.
"I do a little bit of everything at Clemens," Scott told me, "and I love my job. "I clean the store. I do whatever needs to be done. It’s a nice place to work, and the best part is that I still get to see Lambertville folks like I used to when I worked at the post office."
Scott worked at the Lambertville Post Office for 34 years.
"I began as a sub. I did some clerking, and then I became a carrier," he said.
By the way, Scott’s father, Albert, worked at the Lambertville Post Office for 37 years.
Not only does Scott work at Clemens, but he also sells cemetery memorials. His father was the first one who got involved in the business, and Scott followed along with his son, Tom.
"My business is called Worthington & Son," Scott said. "We sell memorials for an outfit called Wentz Company out of Allentown, Pa."
Scott, his wife, Carol, and their sons, including Kevin, have lived in New Hope for 25 years. Scott and Carol have a 7-year-old granddaughter named Natalie.
"My wife is two years younger than me," Scott said, "but she doesn’t look a day older than the day I married her 36 years ago."
Oh, be still my beating heart!
Despite this cool weather, Jules Lopez, our marvelous mailman, was recently seen wearing his crisp, U.S. Postal Service Bermuda shorts.
I may add our Jules looked rather dashing. When Jules wears his Bermuda shorts, I always know it’s a sure sign spring has really arrived.
I had to smile when I recently saw Seth Frank of Church Street skateboarding with his dog, Connor.
I know lots of people skateboard, but none of them have trained their dogs to pull them. Leave it to Seth. He carefully positioned himself on his skateboard, obviously prepared for quite a workout. Holding on to Connor’s leash, off they went, letting the breeze cool Seth while poor Connor worked like a dog!
I tend to disbelieve Tom Castor when he tells me something outrageous because Tom loves to tease.
But, last week without cracking a smile, he stood with his wife, Sandy, and both of them swore they really saw a guy get out of his car by the old Acme, put a leash on a rather large crocodile and meander up Union Street.
After listening to that tale, what could I do but tell Tom I thought his tale was a crock…
‘Til then, if you’ve got any Chit-Chat news, just let me know about it.
Call me at 397-8494, e-mail me at [email protected], snail-mail me or drop off your info at 72 York St. Thanks.
And there you have it, folks, a little chit and a little chat.

