09/02/2026
Since so many of our customers have become more like family over the 50 years we’ve been in business, we wanted to give you a little update on Gary...
Gary gave us quite the scare last Thursday when he suffered a heart attack. After a couple of Life Flight rides, he finally landed at Kootenai Hospital in Coeur d’Alene, where an incredible team of nurses and cardiac doctors has spent the last several days poking, prodding, testing and taking very good care of him.
Right now, his heart is too weak for the bypass surgery he needs, so today they are sending him “home” with a whole collection of medications and a very strict diet - which, as you can imagine, he is absolutely thrilled about 😉. The plan is to give his heart some time to recover, keep a close eye on him, and hopefully get him strong enough for bypass surgery down the road.
Thankfully, we have some wonderful and generous friends with a house near the hospital, and we have somehow managed - with only a little kicking and screaming - to convince Gary to stay there for a bit while we all adjust to his new routine.
Everyone has been so wonderful about checking in on us, and we want you to know we’re doing okay, all things considered. We appreciate every call, message, prayer and good thought more than you know.
Of course, anyone who knows Gary knows that getting him to “take it easy” may be our biggest challenge yet. Apparently doctors frown upon chopping and stacking firewood, loading trailers and hauling treasures around immediately after a heart attack. Who knew? We may have to physically tie him to a chair.
He is especially bummed that he’ll be missing the annual Wallace Flea Market this weekend. Sitting still while everyone else is out haggling over treasures is going to be its own form of torture.
Which means… Gary is going to be BORED.
If you’d like to help us keep him entertained and away from the woodpile - feel free to send him a text at 509-330-0015. Please include your name AND your bid number if you have a permanent one. After 50 years, sometimes we know you just as well by your bid number! 😂
He may not be able to respond to everyone, but we promise he’ll see your messages and appreciate all of them. Bonus points for sending pictures of the latest treasure you’ve added to your collection, wildlife wandering through your property, or anything else you think might make him smile.
For now, our job is to keep him resting, behaving himself and following doctor’s orders - so really, this will be our biggest job yet! 😂❤️
Thank you all for loving Gary and our family so well. We’re incredibly lucky to have such a wonderful community around us, and we’ll keep you updated as we know more.
Our Life Flight membership will be a life saver in more ways than one on this adventure. His hospital room faces the flight path of the helicopter, which we see multiple times a day. If you don’t have a Life Flight Network membership, we encourage you to look into it!
https://www.lifeflight.org/membership/
