Tonawanda, N.Y. (WBEN) - With St. Andrew's Charter Day School and the Roman Catholic Church now closed in the Town of Tonawanda, the church held a sale on Thursday of a wide variety of items available for purchase.
Items available during Thursday's church sale included shelving units, chairs and furniture, outdoor equipment, sports and gym equipment, desks, and even some items like church pews.
Tonawanda resident Mike Marshanke says he heard about the sale from his neighbor, and was looking to see what he could cash in on.
"A lot of stuff that's for sale here, everything that I haven't seen from when I was a kid. Desks and everything, few little odds and ends that I've picked up. But yeah, everything looks nice in here," said Marshanke with WBEN.
Marshanke was more so looking for anything he could have handy in his garage for any special projects, but says anything else he could purchase would be a bonus.
Having gone to a Catholic school as a child, Marshanke admits it is upsetting to see several parishes and schools closing with the recent moves from the Catholic Diocese.
"Why they're closing down stuff like that, I don't even want to get into that. Even the Catholic school I went to, they closed that down. Unfortunately, it's the fact of life right now. Stuff happens and people get stuck in the middle of it," Marshanke said.
Meanwhile, Thursday's church sale at St. Andrew's carried a bit more emotion with them, whether it'd be those who had kids attend the school, or even those who worked at the school.
Marie Christopher was a science teacher at St. Andrew's for 11 years, and to see what the building is like now compared to what it was like when she was teaching there was tough to see.
"It brings back memories of all the kids that I had, and how they graduated, and how wonderful they're doing today. And this is very, very sad."
One of the main reasons Christopher came back to St. Andrew's on Thursday was to find any wooden rosaries, which she did not have luck finding. However, she says there were some microscopes still left over, but admits she didn't know where to put those at her home.
Like many, Christopher is upset with how the Buffalo Diocese has handled the situation with schools and parishes like St. Andrew's with their "Road to Renewal" plan.
"I think it's absolutely terrible, because I feel like parishioners are paying for the price of the sins of the priests," Christopher said. "First of all, I cannot believe that the, so called, financial state they claimed this school was in, how does it get to that point before you don't do something to try to turn it around and save it? I don't get it."
As for Tonawanda resident Debbie, she, too, is saddened by the sale that took place at St. Andrew's on Thursday.
"My kids went here, and this is our church, well, was our church," said Debbie with WBEN. "There is still quite a bit of things here. People should come on down and they might find something."
Debbie's main goal from her trip to the church sale on Thursday was to find any possible keepsake from when her kids went to school at St. Andrew's.
"I was looking in the jerseys, because my son played basketball, and baseball was a big thing to play. And hockey and soccer too," Debbie said.
What upsets Debbie about the closure of the St. Andrew's school and parish is the vibrancy it all gave off, and the love that people shared for one another there.
"I feel they could have closed the school, but left the church open. But they didn't want to hear anything. They already knew what they were doing. They didn't want to listen to the parishioners. That's what's sad," Debbie said.
