DUBLIN, Ind. (AP) – If you just happen to be en route from Baltimore to St. Louis on U.S. 40 this weekend, prepare to dance on the brake pedal as rubberneckers and bargain hunters scour the Historic National Road Yard Sale.
Now in its 11th year, what might be the country’s largest dusk-to-dawn yard sale spans more than 800 miles and kicks off annually on the first Wednesday after Memorial Day, said Patricia McDaniel, who chairs the Historic National Road Yard Sale and owns The Old Storefront antique and vintage store in Dublin, Ind.
McDaniel said the sale has been growing steadily since its inception in 2003, but there’s never any way to gauge how many people set up shop over the sale’s five days.
“I was on my way back from Richmond (Ind.), and people were setting up, but there’s no way to know how many people really participate because they may set up on Wednesday and be gone by Thursday,” McDaniel told the Daily Reporter in Greenfield.
McDaniel said she tries to stay close to her U.S. 40 storefront during the sale, “but I usually get kidnapped” to run at least a portion of the route to answer questions and take stock.
In Greenfield Wednesday, Larry Woodard of New Palestine, Ind., set up under a large tent along Main Street with tables full of all manner of antiques, collectibles, Amish clothes and vintage items.
“We go to yard sales, I collect railroad artifacts, and there’s some stuff that we ask, ‘What do we do with this?’” Woodard said of his offerings.
Wednesday marked Woodard’s first run at the National Road sale, and he said traffic was pretty good, with a majority of those mingling around his tent aware that they were cruising an 824-mile event.
Starting Saturday, Greenfield Main Street Inc. will provide area individuals, civic organizations and churches the opportunity to get in on the sale with 10-foot-square spots at $25 each on the north side of the Hancock County Courthouse.
So far, turnout for the courthouse sale area has been light, and plenty of spaces remain available, said Shelley Swift, GMSI program coordinator.
The downtown event runs from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, with setup beginning at 5:30 a.m.
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Information from: (Greenfield) Daily Reporter, http://www.greenfieldreporter.com
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AP-WF-05-29-14 1349GMT
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