Huckleberries: ‘Dufort Mall’ Dumpsters offer ultimate rummage sale

You might be a North Idahoan if … you’ve ever gone “Dumpster diving” at the “Dufort Mall.” No, I didn’t say “Silver Lake Mall.” The “Dufort Mall” is a collection of trash bins on Dufort Road between Sagle and Athol that North Idaho families have mined for years for trashed items, gently used or otherwise. Mommy Dearest, who writes the BrodH2o blog (http://brodh2o.blogspot. com), remembers being embarrassed as a kid when her mother jumped inside a Dufort Mall bin to grab a pretty floral comforter for MD’s bed. She’s since changed her mind about the steps her mother took to provide for her: “When I think of her standing in that filthy trash, proudly holding up her finds – a nearly new dress, an ice cream maker (still in the box) – I can’t help but feel full of pride.” A Bonner County instructor who comments online under the name of Arpie, meanwhile, claims lamps, clothes, books, bikes and skis (for garden trellises) from the mall. He appreciates that there’s an area with shelves set aside for treasures. And doesn’t like it when profiteers clean the place out for resale. “I don’t get too upset, because I like the fact that the mall has no rules,” he said on my blog. “A bit of anarchy is nice in our overly ruled world, even if I did see my old dining room light at the Sagle Swap a few months later.” Then: “The Dufort Mall runs on karma.” Remember the Dufort Mall next time you’re tempted to snag something at the transfer station or at trash bin sites that are fenced off, locked or guarded. And make sure no one is looking.