A closer look at the National Road Yard Sale Festival
Highlighting yard sales on the National Road and learning how it started.
MUSKINGUM COUNTY, Ohio – The National Road, also known as U.S. 40, has seen yard sales from here to St. Louis this week. So WHIZ hit the road to check out some yard sales in the area.
The National Road and Zane Grey Museum is taking part in a tradition serving as just one of the yard sales that you can shop at along the road. From Baltimore, Maryland to St. Louis, Missouri, you’ll find hundreds of yard sales spread out over 800 miles and across 6 states.
The yard sale at the museum is being ran by the Salvation Army Women’s Auxiliary who is grateful for the use of their parking lot.
“Oh, it’s very nice, they are great. We come in and we set up,” said Mary Lou McKean, a member of the auxiliary. “And they sometimes come over and parous our items too.”
The Women’s Auxiliary’s yard sale serves as a fundraiser for their various programs like buying winter coats for children in need. It’s a fundraiser with the added bonus of getting out and talking to people who are hopping from yard sale to yard sale.
“My favorite part is meeting and greeting the people cause I love to talk to people and greet people. Be around people, besides you know, earning our fundraiser and earning the money to help the kids,” said Jackie Klinehoffer, another member of the auxiliary.
The first ever National Road Yard Sale was started in 2003 by the Indiana National Road Association. WHIZ spoke with Donna Tauber, one of the event founders and a board member of the association. She highlights the impact on tourism and travel it had from the very beginning.
“Well when we first started the first year, like I said it was kind of contained to Indiana,” Tauber said. “We did that for two-three years, and the restaurants ran out of food, the gas stations and the restrooms ran out of toilet paper. It was crazy. People were looking for bargains people were wanting to make a little extra money and, you know, get rid of stuff.”
Now that we know how it started, we asked her how she felt, seeing the National Road Yard Sale Festival grow from one town, to six states and over 800 miles of roadside sales.
“This will be our 23rd year and I had no idea that it would grow. I dreamed it would. It’s kind of like build it and they will come,” Tauber said.
WHIZ travels just 3 miles down the road to Lucky Finds Antiques where we talked to the owner about why he lets set up shop in his own back yard and what the National Road Yard Sale Festival means for his business.
“Well it doesn’t cost me anything to have them come out and do it and everybody wants to join this little 40 Yard Festival that we got going on. So might as well let them come out and doing their thing, have a little fun with it,” said Tom Jansen, co-owner of Lucky Find Antiques. ” It’s great promotion for us, having all these people come out. A lot of people, this is the first time they’ve seen the antique store, you know. And who doesn’t love a good yard sale?”
If you missed out on this years National Road Yard Sale Festival, don’t worry. The event returns every year and is always the week after Memorial Day.
