100-mile yard sale set to kick-off Thursday morning

Literally thousands of items ranging from household goods to electronic gizmos all offered along one route, making searching out the "perfect buy" easy.

The ninth annual Memorial Day weekend 100-mile Yard Sale will begin Thursday morning, sometime around 6 a.m. according to those who have attended before, and will continue through Monday, May 28.

After almost a decade, it can sometimes be hard to remember how this yard sale behemoth first began. Of course it's not hard to figure out that the whole idea started with an avid interest in finding the best buy for your money.

It all began with a Bloomfield woman named Ellen Lowe. Lowe traveled to many trade shows and flea markets across the country and soon began to form an idea that would not only bring her love of a bargain closer to home, but would help boost the economy of her hometown.

In 1999, Lowe invited all the dealers to Highway 25 and footed the cost of marketing the event herself, according to published reports. Soon, though, area chambers of commerce would realize what a boon the yard sale was to local economies up and down the highway.

"We are the coordinating chamber for this event," said Janet Coleman, executive director of the Dexter Chamber of Commerce. "We are responsible for producing the brochures, gathering ads and putting banners out, among other things."

Coleman said that the Dexter chamber begins preparation for the annual sale in January by gathering volunteers and distributing approximately 1,100 brochures to 23 different states in the country.

"We also distribute another 7,000 brochures to tourist centers in the state and we give them to people who live up and down the highway to hand out," said Coleman. "Anyone who calls asking about the sale is mailed a brochure and they are put on our mailing list for next year."

Coleman said that in the past week she has received calls from residents of Kansas City, Mo., and Osceola, Ark., wanting to know more about the sale so they could attend. Even visitors from other countries usually try to attend the sale.

"This event has gotten a little bigger every year," said Coleman. "There are just literally thousands of people who come.

"I probably don't even want to know how much work we put into this every year," said Coleman with a laugh.

Properties up and down Highway 25 will either be used by the owner to set up a yard sale or rented to someone who has yard sale items. Signs will be posted along the highway for those who have booths set up off the highway. There are a myriad of items available, according to Coleman, and Stoddard County businesses are ready for the increased traffic.

"We have a line-item of hotels, restaurants, convenience stores, flea markets, everything all printed so that those attending know where they can go to get what they need," Coleman said. "Most hotels stay booked and restaurants certainly stay busy."

But with the increased traffic -- both motor and pedestrian -- Missouri State Highway Patrol Troop E Public Information Officer Sgt. Dale Moreland is urging motorists to use extreme caution and slow down when traveling on Highway 25 this weekend.

"We get a lot of rear-end accidents because someone saw something and stopped in the middle of the road," said Moreland. "People need to pay attention to their driving and watching for people stepping out between cars.

"If you want to shop, you need to stop. Don't try to shop from your car because that is how accidents happen."

The Southeast Missourian contributed to this report.

schampion@dailystatesman.com