100-Mile Yard Sale attracts visitors to Highway 25

For the past 20 years, James and Joan Dunning have set up tables full of items for sale outside their Jackson home on Memorial Day weekend.

They fill tables with collectible items, pictures, toys, shoes and other treasures. James repairs lawnmowers, lawn equipment and washers to sell during the 100-Mile Yard Sale, while Joan said it’s a good way to clear items out of the house.

This year, the most unusual items the couple said they sold were two pairs of cross-country skis Joan Dunning said her sister used during a blizzard in 1979 in Jackson.

Their house is just one stop on the annual event, which spans Highway 25 and gives bargain hunters an opportunity to visit yard sales at homes along the way. On a road winding from Jackson to Kennett, Missouri, drivers on the highway can see booths set up with cars lining both sides of the road.

The 100-Mile Yard Sale began Thursday and ran until Monday. James Dunning said most dedicated shoppers planned ahead and arrived early Thursday for the best deals.

Jace Brooks, 4, of Bloomfield, Missouri, (being held by his mother April Bond of Bloomfield) reacts to his grandmother Margie Robinson of Advance, Missouri, holding up a dinosaur poster at a sale in Delta during the 100-Mile Yard Sale on Saturday, May 23, 2020, along Highway 25. The event takes place along Highway 25 from Jackson to Kennett, Missouri.Jacob Wiegand ~ jwiegand@semissourian.com

In the past two decades, they’ve seen visitors from Hawaii, Indiana, Connecticut and Michigan stop by their home, James Dunning said.

“Most people anticipate it, year after year, at the same time,” James Dunning said. “Some people have said they use this as their vacation.” He said hundreds of visitors stop by their yard each year to view the items for sale.

What attracts such a large crowd to the yard sale?

“Bargains. Getting a good deal and getting outside if it’s pretty weather,” Joan Dunning said. “Of course, everybody was cooped up because of the virus, so now they’re getting out because of that.”

Brian Gerau, CEO of the Jackson Area Chamber of Commerce, also said the biggest attraction to the event is the low prices and variety of items. While he said visitors might have seen fewer vendors this year due to COVID-19, he still anticipated a fair turnout.

He said the event also brings business to the Jackson community as visitors stop for gas or a meal before cruising down Highway 25.