Flea market draws quite the crowd

WALLACE — The popular Under the Freeway Flea Market made its triumphant return to Wallace over the long weekend and it may have been one of the biggest ever.

Shauna Hillman could barely stop smiling, she was so thrilled with how the event went.

More than 100 vendors lined the pavement beneath Interstate 90 from Friday through Monday, peddling everything from model cars to vintage clothing, antique tools to inflatable aliens.

Such a diverse selection naturally attracted an equally diverse crowd, which is exactly how Hillman wants it to be for the Labor Day weekend staple.

And when you factor in the number of shoppers, the gravity of the event really sinks in.

“It was superior,” Hillman said. “Just like it always is. We had 10,000 shoppers make their way through the market.”

With COVID-19 robbing the Silver Valley of the event last year, and with Idaho’s neighboring states having tighter restrictions, Hillman believes the market drew from the surrounding areas just as much as it did from locals.

“We market from Lewiston to Cranbrook, (British Columbia) Canada, and then from Seattle to Billings,” Hillman said, “so I hope we had a lot of people here from outside of the state.”

Hillman believed the shopping was good and the vendors were happy, which was corroborated.

“The vendors are very happy, couldn’t be more happy,” said Larry and Laurie Heustis, who are vendors themselves and discussed what their favorite part of the flea market is. “We love talking to all of the people that come by and enjoying the visits with them.”

The Heustises won the $100 third place in the Rotary Club’s Duck Race during the event, finishing behind Ed Butler (first place, $500) and Tara Mindt (second place, $250), the race featured 889 ducks.

The event acts as the main fundraiser for the Northern Pacific Depot Foundation, the money from the vendor registrations goes toward maintenance of the North Pacific Railroad Depot Museum as well as the salaries of those who work there.