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Auctioning Trash for Treasure

HAZLETON — Furniture, musical instruments and other items that served hundreds of students at a closed Catholic school in Hazleton are now up for bids. Wh...

HAZLETON -- Furniture, musical instruments and other items that served hundreds of students at a closed Catholic school in Hazleton are now up for bids. What's left of Bishop Hafey High School and Holy Family Academy will be auctioned off on Friday.

From tubas to cabinets and thousands of items in between, Bishop Hafey High School has a lot to offer at a public auction this weekend, especially for Bob Sooy of Sugarloaf.

"I'm thinking of one piece to put right in my kitchen as just an old piece with a little bit of a story to it, you know?" said Bob Sooy.

Banged up or good as new, these items tell the story of Bishop Hafey High School. Once upon a time, the Diocese of Scranton closed the school and sold it to the Hazleton Area School District. In its next chapter, Hazleton Area is auctioning used items from Bishop Hafey and the rest of the district.

"It's used, but some of it has that character to it that sort of used school character," said Sooy.

For many of the people browsing these aisles, this is a great way to do some bargain shopping, but for one Hafey alum, seeing all this go is bittersweet.

"I was rooting very hard for the diocese to save the school but that wasn't to be," said Jim Scallion of Sugarloaf.

Jim Sscallion graduated from Bishop Hafey High in 1982. For Jim, this auction is a trip down memory lane.

"It's different. It's worse, knowing that it's certainly gone forever," said Scallion.

J & J Auction Service said all items will be sold for cheap, but Bob Sooy said, the stories behind the items and the auction itself are priceless.

"I just like the thrill of the hunt and just that spirit of competition I guess you could say, and winning it out over somebody else," said Sooy.

The auction starts Saturday at 9 a.m. and continues until everything's gone. J & J Auction Service said money from the auction will go to the Hazleton Area School District.

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