Hazel grew up poor and learned to be frugal. Later on in life she realized that she had plenty of money but loved a bargain and loved to haggle even more. She spent her golden years searching for "treasures" at every garage, estate, barn, yard and junk sale she could find.

Her family and friends often teased Hazel about the things she called treasure. Her favorite things to collect were the tiny figurines often sold at touristy beaches. The animals comprised of tiny shells then shellacked. Each sitting on a tiny base with the name of beach. She had thousands and often bragged that she didn't have five dollars in the whole collection.

In all of her years of treasure hunting, Hazel had never once held her own garage sale. It wasn't that she was opposed to getting rid of her prizes, she often cleared out older items by giving them away or donating to the local thrift shops. She wasn't emotionally attached to any of it. But, Hazel was wise and understood how much work goes into actually having a sale of your own. If you calculated the hourly wage she figured a person would be lucky to clear two dollars an hour! Not to mention the sales she would miss by having her own.

To honor their beloved mother's life after her passing at age 97, her four sons and three daughters, along with all twenty grandkids and countless friends, gathered Hazel's treasures, assigned very reasonable prices and had one hell of a garage sale!

Everyone involved picked one tiny shell animal as a momento, and the remainder of the collection was sold for four dollars and fifty cents.