Shoppers ready to go distance for 100-mile Yard Sale

The fifth annual 100-mile Yard Sale is to bargain hunters and second-hand dealers what Cancun is to spring breakers, what the bingo hall is to senior adults, what an amusement park is to children.

The 100-mile stretch of Highway 25 from Jackson to Kennett will be lined with second-hand clothes, antiques, glassware, toys and, some admit, junk, today through Memorial Day.

The event will bring hundreds of tourists to the area, some from England, Colorado and California.

It'll cause bumper-to-bumper traffic for 100 miles. It'll force truck drivers to take other routes.

It'll bring extra tax revenue to several towns.

And, it'll make people happy. Especially Ellen Lowe.

Lowe instigated the event five years ago with her own time and money.

Lowe has been preparing for this weekend for five months. She's got stuff from 21 different families packed into a barn behind her house on Highway 25 a few miles north of Bloomfield in Stoddard County.

A collector, Lowe goes all over the country browsing antique shops and yard sales. She got the idea from a 450-mile yard sale that runs through Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee.

"I wanted somebody else to start it, but nobody would," she said.

So she, with the help of a couple of people, printed up some flyers and spent a year traveling to the different towns along the route, talking to mayors of towns and chambers of commerce to drum up support. She sent her flyers to all the antique shops she had business cards from. In all, she spent several hundred dollars getting it started, and it was an immediate success.

Bumper to bumber

"I couldn't believe the bumper-to-bumper cars going down 25," she said.

Now, the chambers of commerce promote the event, and several businesses are sponsors.

On Wednesday, several entrepreneurs already had their gigs going, including Lowe.

Kay White, who operated an antique shop on Highway 25 for 12 years, had always put out a sale of her own before. This year, she's renting out space for $10 to $15 per day and has decided to shop instead of peddle this year.

Lisa Watson of Aquilla was preparing her sale Wednesday between Advance and Bloomfield.

"It's kids junk," she said. "If you've got kids under 5, you need to come to this one," she said.

Down the road, Kim Cornell of Bloomfield was one of eight or nine families who began putting their stuff out -- on just one lawn Wednesday.

The yard was about half full. When asked if everything was ready yet, she said "Lord, no. We've got tons more stuff."

Belinda Rogers of Lowns was one of the early birds, picking through items a day before the event's official start.

"I found a tractor for my grandson," she said. "He's going to love it."

Gas stations and restaurants along the highway always love the 100-mile yard sale.

Christy Montgomery, a clerk at Rhodes Gas in Advance, said the convenience store and gas station will have a three-person crew come in early this weekend to handle the extra business.

"Lots of people stop in," she said, adding she's having her own garage sale this weekend in Delta. "We sell lots of sodas and gas."

Cheryl Merkler, the executive assistant at the Jackson Chamber of Commerce, said she's received "one call after another" about the yard sale. The Southeast Missourian has had several inquiries about the yard sale as well.

Lowe, who sets out a sign-in book at her barn, already had customers from California on Wednesday. Her book from last year had signatures from Alaska and England.

bmiller@semissourian.com

243-6635

By Bob Miller ~ Southeast Missourian

The fifth annual 100-mile Yard Sale is to bargain hunters and second-hand dealers what Cancun is to spring breakers, what the bingo hall is to senior adults, what an amusement park is to children.

The 100-mile stretch of Highway 25 from Jackson to Kennett will be lined with second-hand clothes, antiques, glassware, toys and, some admit, junk, today through Memorial Day.

The event will bring hundreds of tourists to the area, some from England, Colorado and California.

It'll cause bumper-to-bumper traffic for 100 miles. It'll force truck drivers to take other routes.

It'll bring extra tax revenue to several towns.

And, it'll make people happy. Especially Ellen Lowe.

Lowe instigated the event five years ago with her own time and money.

Lowe has been preparing for this weekend for five months. She's got stuff from 21 different families packed into a barn behind her house on Highway 25 a few miles north of Bloomfield in Stoddard County.

A collector, Lowe goes all over the country browsing antique shops and yard sales. She got the idea from a 450-mile yard sale that runs through Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee.

"I wanted somebody else to start it, but nobody would," she said.

So she, with the help of a couple of people, printed up some flyers and spent a year traveling to the different towns along the route, talking to mayors of towns and chambers of commerce to drum up support. She sent her flyers to all the antique shops she had business cards from. In all, she spent several hundred dollars getting it started, and it was an immediate success.

Bumper to bumber

"I couldn't believe the bumper-to-bumper cars going down 25," she said.

Now, the chambers of commerce promote the event, and several businesses are sponsors.

On Wednesday, several entrepreneurs already had their gigs going, including Lowe.

Kay White, who operated an antique shop on Highway 25 for 12 years, had always put out a sale of her own before. This year, she's renting out space for $10 to $15 per day and has decided to shop instead of peddle this year.

Lisa Watson of Aquilla was preparing her sale Wednesday between Advance and Bloomfield.

"It's kids junk," she said. "If you've got kids under 5, you need to come to this one," she said.

Down the road, Kim Cornell of Bloomfield was one of eight or nine families who began putting their stuff out -- on just one lawn Wednesday.

The yard was about half full. When asked if everything was ready yet, she said "Lord, no. We've got tons more stuff."

Belinda Rogers of Lowns was one of the early birds, picking through items a day before the event's official start.

"I found a tractor for my grandson," she said. "He's going to love it."

Gas stations and restaurants along the highway always love the 100-mile yard sale.

Christy Montgomery, a clerk at Rhodes Gas in Advance, said the convenience store and gas station will have a three-person crew come in early this weekend to handle the extra business.

"Lots of people stop in," she said, adding she's having her own garage sale this weekend in Delta. "We sell lots of sodas and gas."

Cheryl Merkler, the executive assistant at the Jackson Chamber of Commerce, said she's received "one call after another" about the yard sale. The Southeast Missourian has had several inquiries about the yard sale as well.

Lowe, who sets out a sign-in book at her barn, already had customers from California on Wednesday. Her book from last year had signatures from Alaska and England.

bmiller@semissourian.com

243-6635