100-Mile Yard Sale begins today

This morning bargain hunters from throughout the country began their journey to find the best deals at the 11th annual 100-Mile Yard Sale.

The yard sale started in 1999 when Ellen Lowe, who travels to many trade shows and flea markets, started taking contact information from the dealers and realized that she could bring the trade market to Highway 25. The first year she invited all the dealers and footed the cost of marketing herself. Now the area chambers of commerce combine to sponsor the event, which runs from Jackson to Kennett, Mo.

In previous years, the sale has been promoted with fliers that were distributed throughout the region. This year area chambers of commerce banded together to form the website 25yardsale.com, which has information about lodging, restaurants, shopping and locations of specific yard sales.

A pink umbrella is one of the thousands of items up for grabs Thursday, May 21, 2009, on the first day of the 100-Mile Yard Sale. The sale will continue through Monday. (Kit Doyle)

A number of hotels, restaurants, antique shops and other businesses near the 100-mile route see increased sales during the annual event, which began today and ends Memorial Day.

The opening day of the 100-mile Yard Sale couldn't have come soon enough for Sam's Restaurant in Advance, Mo.

The event marks the busiest time of the year for the restaurant -- business increases by as much as 60 percent.

"We're excited whenever the yard sale comes to town," said night shift manager Glenda Smith. "People enjoy it because everything is so cheap. Last year we noticed things were a little slower because of higher gas prices but we're expecting increased sales this year."

Look for more on this story later at semissourian.com and in Friday's edition of the Southeast Missourian.

bblackwell@semissourian.com

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