STRICTLY BUSINESS: AND, NOW A 100-MILE YARD SALE?

Need a push mower?

How about a small boat motor?

Or an oriental rug?

You can find it, and more, at a yard sale somewhere.

Yard sale mania has long been in existence in Southeast Missouri and the nation. People spend hours pricing and preparing "stuff" for a Friday or Saturday sale, and others awake before daylight to take advantage of any bargains.

It's a way to clean house and "get rid of the junk," and an opportunity to get that certain item at a bargain.

Yards sales are becoming bigger and bigger.

The Cape Girardeau Parks and Recreation Department holds an annual communitywide yard sale. The one-day event usually last from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., and is open to anyone. Booths can be reserved for $8 and tables and chairs will be provided.

And, now comes the "100-Mile Yard Sale," which will include communities along state Highway 25, from Jackson to Kennett.

A number of antique and collectible dealers are already planning a jaunt along Route 25, said Ellen Lowe, of Bloomfield, an organizer of the Memorial Day weekend event.

"It's a five-day event, built around the Memorial Day weekend," said Lowe. The sale will start Thursday, May 27, and continue through Monday, May 31, with stops at a dozen or more sites between Jackson to Kennett.

"A bus tour is switching its Memorial Day weekend schedule to include Route 25, from Jackson to Kennett," said Lowe.

Plans for the "100-Mile Yard Sale" are creating some far-reaching interest.

Yard sale enthusiasts will have an opportunity to make a long weekend of yard-saling.

"Bargain hunters will be in their element," said Lowe, who will conduct her own sale Highway 25, between Aquilla and Bloomfield.

Hundreds of people along the route will hold yard sales, she said, "Many stores in the towns along the route will have weekend sidewalk sales."

Lowe, who is retired and an antique and memorabilia collector, got the idea for the 100-mile yard sale from her own yard-sale visits in Kentucky and Tennessee, which features an annual 100-mile-plus yard sale, which stretches from Wickliffe in western Kentucky, along Highway 51, to Memphis.

That yard sale is a big event, said Lowe. "There are literally hundreds of yard sales along Route 51 over the Memorial Day weekend.

A small community near Nashville, Watertown, Tenn., has a twice-a-year, one-mile yard sale through town. The spring event will be held April 17, with the fall event Oct. 9.

The "Super Swing" Yard Sale, which features yard sales and sidewalk sales, is a 50-mile event along U.S. 287 in North Texas, including towns like Electra, Vernton, Ellet and Harrold.

"There could be well over a 100 yard sales along the Route 25, 100-mile event," said Lowe.

Lowe has contacted mayors in all of the towns and villages along the route and have their OK on the event.

Among communities along the route area Jackson, Gordonville, Advance, Delta, Dexter, Bernie, Bloomfield, Clarkton, Malden.

Out on a limb

When Michael Garnier invites his friends for a visit to his "Out 'n' About Treehouse Resort," they will be going out on a limb.

Guests may choose the "Swiss Family Complex," with French doors, bunk beds and a swinging bridge connecting the grown-ups' section to the children's unit. Or, they may want the "Tree Room Schoolhouse Suite," with a queen-sized bed, kitchenette and a bathroom with an antique tub.

Other facilities are available at the Takilma, Ore., resort -- the "Cabin," the "Treepee," and the "Peacock Perch," with a 20-foot banister staircase.

Garnier's resort ran into some problems a couple of years after it opened, when officials decided it didn't satisfy building codes. And after two years of arguing, a compromise was reach.

Garnier could use his tree houses, but only for his friends.

Garnier made friends quickly.

He started a "TreeMusketeers Club," and anyone joining the club could enjoy a complimentary tree house stay. Cost of joining the club and purchasing a "Tree-Shirt" equaled the rent Gariner previously charged for his tree houses.

Thus, the tree houses still do a great business, and city fathers have finally deemed his structure safe. As one official said, the city didn't have any specific tree house codes to start with.

Cookbook for Fido

Now that Garnier has his OK for tree house motels, how about a cookbook for Fido.

Although Fido won't be able to follow the recipes for mouth-watering treats his master can.

"MacPherson's K-9 Biscuit Kit" includes recipes like "Sniff N' Bite Biscuits" and "Flea Fighter Fingers," and many more.

Additional information on the new cookbook for Fido is available by writing K-O Biscuit Kit, P.O. Box 2247, Nixa, Mo., 65714.

B. Ray Owen is business editor for the Southeast Missourian.