In 1972, on the third weekend of August, Sherman Combs started a swap meet on the grounds of his gift shop (at what is now the Packwood Timberland Regional Library). The summer of 1977 Sherman had decided that he would no longer sponsor a swap meet in Packwood and offered it to Dave Bliss. In 1978 Dave Bliss decided to promote the event as a Flea Mart. He moved it to Labor Day weekend and rented the community hall. After the Packwood Senior Center was built, Dave offered it to the seniors as a source of fund raising.
As the event grew other property owners started renting space to vendors. With the popularity of the Labor Day Weekend event it was only a matter of time until Memorial Day weekend became another Flea Mart weekend.
Now on Flea Mart weekend, be it Labor Day or Memorial Day, the town of Packwood is crowded with vendors selling everything from antiques, unlikely treasurers, new items, to food and crowds of shoppers looking for a bargain.