Organizer dismisses rumored closing of 100-mile Yard Sale

It may not have traveled the entire 100 miles of the celebrated yard sale, but the rumor made it from Jackson to Delta that this may be the last year for the sale. But organizers of the yard sale say it isn't so.

Glenda Franklin of McClure, Ill., selling glassware and kitchen appliances from beneath the awning of a camper trailer set up near the Highway 25 turnoff to Chaffee, was the first to mention it. Then, Jack Chapman of Chaffee and Louis Williams of Rockview, both selling at the Dutchtown junction, said they'd heard the same rumor. The traffic was so bad during the 100-mile Yard Sale that people were complaining, and for that reason there was talk of discontinuing it.

Janet Coleman, director of the Dexter Chamber of Commerce and lead organizer of the sale, said that traffic could be a problem along some stretches of Highway 25, but there was no talk of closing down the yard sale.

Barbara Lohr, who has been active in the 7-year-old event at the Jackson end of the highway, said she had heard of some complaints about traffic, but was unaware of any talk of discontinuing the sale. The sale is too popular, she said, to stop it.

Traffic concerns

"I know traffic is a problem, but people from out of town stay in our hotels and motels to do this," Lohr said. "People eat in our restaurants."

Coleman noted that people come from California, Texas and other states.

"A lot of people spend a lot of money up and down 25," she said. "That's what it's all about."

Some, like Franklin and Williams, travel around buying and selling on a fairly regular basis. The 100-mile Yard Sale is only one location they set up shop in. Others like David Brown of Jackson and Chapman have some items they want to get rid of and bring them out because they know they'll sell at the local event. Brown was selling used movie videos and other assorted items with his son. He had set up just for Monday and said he was doing pretty well.

Chapman sold a lawn mower and still had two left to sell. In the back of his pickup truck was an electric guitar in its case. He set up shop at 8 a.m. Monday and said business had been good.

Setting up camp

Franklin and her husband, Cecil, had been camping at their location since Tuesday along with their dog, Buttons. The two of them will venture over to Lake Wappapello in a couple of weeks, and regularly go to flea markets in Kentucky, Illinois and Arizona.

Williams and his partner, Randy Amelunke, and Randy's grandfather, Charlie Amelunke, rented a tent to display their assortment of tools, glassware, pictures and knives, and had been there since Wednesday. Business was good, Williams said, better than last Memorial Day when rain drove everyone away. The three men say they go "up and down the road" looking for bargains to buy and sell.

"It gets in your blood," Williams said.

lredeffer@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 160