Monday, August 10th, 2015
Yard sales increase, local officials say
By Claire Giesige
Photo by Claire Giesige/The Daily Standard
Shoppers on Saturday browse Main Street yard sales in Celina. Local participants in the annual World's Longest Yard Sale reported steady business throughout the event, which ran from Thursday through Sunday mainly along U.S. 127 from Alabama to Michigan.
CELINA - Main Street was abuzz Saturday morning as day three of the 690-mile World's Longest Yard Sale unfolded.
Donna Grube, Auglaize and Mercer Counties Convention & Visitors Bureau director, reported 252 individual sales were along U.S. 127 in Mercer County and 44 sales were held on side roads.
"The total number of sales is up a little bit from last year," Grube said. "We saw license plates from Illinois, Kentucky, New York and Texas, to name a few. In past years we've seen a lot of Canadian plates, too."
It's impossible to know exactly how many visitors come to the area for the sale, she said. However, the visitors bureau typically begins receiving calls six weeks to two months in advance from people planning to visit during the annual event.
Celina residents participating in the sale reported good results.
"Business has been pretty steady so far, especially on Thursday. We're very grateful for the weather," Jan Temple, of Celina, said.
Saturday was sunny and breezy, with blue skies stretching over customers hunting for deals along Celina streets.
Although her sale on Ash Street is a block off the designated U.S. 127 route, Temple had seen steady foot traffic.
"It's nice because you can get away with selling things you couldn't normally sell at a garage sale because they're a little nicer than usual," Temple said.
Chris York and Brad Roediger, who have held an antique sale at their Main Street house for the last five years, also remarked on the steady stream of customers this year.
"It just gets bigger every year," York said. "We get a lot of repeat visits."
"These sales bring a lot of business to Celina," Roediger added.
Through the years, York and Roediger have seen customers from as far away as California and Maine.
Susan Franklin of Englewood, Fla., had visited friends in Michigan and was returning home on U.S. 127 to visit the sales.
"I decided to stop in Celina because it's such a cute little town and there's such a variety here in participation," Franklin said as she browsed on Main Street.
She plans to return next year to visit the area yard sales again.
Franklin later stopped at Lakeshore Park, where vendors sold everything from old records to glassware to modern sculptures.
"I just think it's good for the community," said Chris Droesch, who is a coordinator of the Lakeshore vendors.
"We bring a lot of money and business to the city," the Coldwater resident added. "People who stop here end up getting gas and food in Celina."
Many Main Street businesses saw an upswing in the number of customers, though the impact was larger for some than for others.
"We've been really busy. We've seen a lot of different, new people in the past few days," Kelsey Wright of Java Nation said.
However, Mommy and Me on Main was not greatly affected by yard sale shoppers, according to a store employee.
"Business has been a lot slower than in previous years, both with Lake Fest and the 127 garage sales," Karlee Huber told the paper, though she did mention a slight uptick with the yard sale event.
The sales do have a downside, Megan Phillips of Celina noted as she browsed the Celina farmers' market with a friend and their families.
"The traffic is crazy," Phillips said. "I only came out for the market, which I visit every week."
As if to prove her point, a loud crash occurred moments later as a truck backing out of a space on Main Street struck a vehicle traveling southbound.
Farmers market vendors mostly favored the yard sales despite the heavy traffic.
"We've definitely noticed an increase (in sales)," vendor Chris Bihn said. "And that's always good."
The 2016 yard sale is scheduled for Aug. 4-7, according to 127yardsale.com.
