The Arnold Rotary Club is attempting to bring new life to a flea market in Arnold.
The club will hold its first flea market from 8 a.m. to noon Saturday, Sept. 12, in the parking lot of the Fox C-6 Service Center, 849 Jeffco Blvd.
Rotary Club member Ron Counts, who is helping organize the event, said he was contacted by a representative from the local Boy Scout troop that previously held flea markets twice a year in Arnold to let him know the troop was no longer going to have the events.
“I said, ‘I hate to see (the flea market) end,’” said Counts, who served as Arnold’s mayor from 2009-2025. “We got to talking, and I said maybe the Rotary could take it over. I took it to the Rotary, and they thought it was a great idea. I hope it is, and I hope everyone does well.”
Matt Gearhart, who is the scoutmaster for Troop 450 in Arnold, said the troop had held flea markets for more than 25 years at the Service Center. He said the markets were held on Saturdays over Mother’s Day weekend in the spring and the week before Arnold Days, which is held on the third weekend in September, in the fall.
Lou Catic, a Rotary Club member and one of the event’s organizers, said she is glad her organization will continue the tradition.
“We thought we could pick it up and maybe revitalize it,” she said. “We hope to retain some of the Boy Scouts’ vendors and add some more.”
As of Aug. 26, 18 vendors are expected to be at the first flea market, Catic said. There will be a wide variety of items for sale during the event, she said.
“I hope people go and clean out their garages and bring all kinds of stuff,” she said. “I feel like in the fall people are cleaning out stuff and they don’t want to repack it. The people who have called have asked if they can sell honey, handmade jewelry and Christmas items. I have said, ‘Absolutely, we are happy to have all vendors.’”
A Boy Scout troop will continue to be part of the flea market.
Troop 372, which meets at the Meramec-Arnold Elks Lodge in Imperial, will sell food and beverages during the market, said Jim Chellew, charter organization representative.
“It is kind of a new thing for us,” said Chellew, who also is a Rotary Club member. “We will focus on breakfast foods, and we may have some pulled pork or something like that as well. We have been looking for something to do as a fundraiser for the troop. We will try it and see how it works.”
Catic said a member of the Shake Before Using band will perform during the market. She said the one-man band typically performs covers of classic rock ’n’ roll songs.
Catic said she hopes the Rotary Club’s first flea market is a success, and that the organization will continue to hold the market in the fall every year.
“We are hopeful this year will be a success and then next year will be bigger and the year after that will be bigger,” she said. “We, as a Rotary Club, want to make this an event that people will come to enjoy from all around, not just the city of Arnold. We hope people from throughout Jefferson County and the St. Louis County area will come in and see what our town has to offer.”
The Rotary Club is charging $35 per spot for people to sell items during the market.
Catic said the proceeds from the event will be used by the Rotary Club to pay for scholarships that the organization awards annually to local high school graduates, to make donations to area charitable organizations such as the Gateway Food Pantry, James II Project and Salvation Army of Jefferson County, and to help pay for the Rotary Club’s community events.
“We will be taking area veterans on a trip to the Veterans Memorial in Perryville,” she said. “We did this last year, so this will be the second trip. It is on Oct. 22.”
Catic said the Rotary Club received a $5,000 grant from the Arnold Tourism Commission to help promote the flea market.
“It means a lot because it covers our advertising costs,” she said of the grant. “It has been a saving grace.”
Counts said holding the flea market at the same time as the Arnold Farmers Market may help attract shoppers to both locations.
The Farmers Market is held from 8 a.m. to noon on Saturdays from May through October near the entrance of Arnold City Park at 1 Bradley Beach Road off Jeffco Boulevard near the Meramec River.
Farmers market organizers have said up to 2,000 customers shop at the market each week.
“I think it is a win-win deal,” Counts said. “I think the farmers market could have a huge influence on it. There are things at the (flea market) that you don’t normally see at different places.”
Catic said those interested in selling items at the flea market may contact her at 314-616-4769.
“We have a big parking lot at the Service Center,” she said. “I am still passing out flyers and going to local businesses to get the word out.”
Flea market customers will be asked to park at the nearby Fox schools campus, which is home to a high, middle and elementary school, Central Office and Rickman Auditorium. The campus is at 751 Jeffco Blvd.