LAUREL HILL — Some folks have stories about chasing a garbage truck when they’re late hauling out trash. Trecia Chedister fondly recalls dashing down German village streets ahead of the garbage truck.
The occasion: “gross garbage day,” “gross” being German for “oversized.”
In the 1970s, Trecia’s husband, now retired Maj. Gen. Robb Chedister, was stationed at Sembach Air Base near Kaiserslautern. The family lived in a village called Imsbach.
“It was a known fact among the Americans that every three months they had gross garbage day,” Trecia Chedister said. “If you couldn’t find what you needed in stores, you’d go out looking on the streets.
“Back then, German people wanted more modern things so they were putting their family antiques out on the street. It was just a wonderful, wonderful shopping day for Americans.”
Once the Chedisters and another couple visited Rothenburg ob der Tauber, a walled medieval village of half-timbered buildings.
“The guys went to do their touring and I went with my girlfriend to walk along the wall,” Trecia said. “We discovered it was gross garbage day and soon we were running ahead of the garbage truck to find what wonderful pieces we could find.
“The garbage guys realized what we were doing, so they’d slow down and shout, ‘hurry, hurry’ and point out good things to us.
“By the time the guys got back to the car, we had the trunk completely filled, and we were sitting on our luggage. We literally had our treasures packed around us. We had so much fun!”
Gross garbage day once led to a poignant moment. A pair of suitcases yielded a trove of antique, hand-blown glass Christmas ornaments.
“I took them back to our home and yelled for my landlady, who used to make fun of me for going out on gross garbage day, and said, ‘Ulla, Ulla, come see what I have found.’ When she saw them she just burst into tears,” Trecia said.
“I said, ‘Why are you crying?’ She told me one Christmas during the war, she was living with their grandparents and the house was bombed.
“Ulla always remembered the beautiful glass ornaments that they had just hung on the tree but were all destroyed. When she saw the ornaments I found, she started crying. I had to give them to her.
“Now she is still decorating her Christmas trees with them. She calls me every year to tell me how beautiful they are.
“So there are treasures in garbage.”
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This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Laurel Hill woman once found treasures in German trash