Saturday’s Route 208 Yard Sale is a family affair for Shirley Steffler.
A retired daycare owner, Steffler plans to get rid of unwanted items during a sale at her New Wilmington home. Her 10-year-old granddaughter, Ali Lambert, hopes to make a buck selling lemonade and water to the thousands expected.
And Steffler’s recently engaged granddaughter, Alexis Lambert, can’t wait to find treasures at some 200 yard sales along state Route 208 between Volant and New Bedford.
“Since we just got engaged, we’re looking for stuff for our home and yard sales are the perfect place to find stuff,” said Lambert, 20.
In its 11th year, the annual event brings thousands from as far as Canada and the Midwest to Lawrence County’s Amish countryside. Shoppers pack restaurants and convenience stores, 15 miles of Route 208 becomes a parking lot and folks like Pulaski’s Gary Cameron “make pretty decent money.”
“I make a lot of money,” said Cameron, who works for the Youngstown Housing Authority and lives on Route 208. “Lots of people give me stuff (to sell). I have a friend who moved from the house where he lived for 30 years. He has a whole mess of stuff to get rid of.”
The 58-year-old says Route 208 turns into a one-lane road.
“It’s a zoo,” he said. “People are parked all over the side of he road.”
Cheryl Geidner, the owner of Mill 1800 Trading Co. in Volant, founded the event. It’s always held on the second Saturday in August.
“I noticed across the country there were a lot of long-distance yard sales and it created a lot of revenue for the area,” Geidner said. “What better way to showcase the area. You go along the Amish countryside.”
For the first event in 2013, the sales were held along 10 miles of Route 208 from Volant to Pulaski.
“We invited everyone to participate,” she said. “You can sell your treasures and you can buy treasures.”
The next year, New Bedford was included and now the sales continue along Route 208 into Grove City.
“Some people love it. Some people hate it,” Geidner added. “Some come here every year. It is really a beautiful area and it’s been really good for the economy.”
At Ryder’s Restaurant at state routes 208 and 18 outside New Wilmington, it’s all hands on deck during the Route 208 Yard Sale.
“We are really busy on those days,” said owner Janet Ryder. “It’s probably one of the busiest days of the year. We have people waiting on line. Employees are not allowed to take their vacation that week.”
Ryder doesn’t appreciate that some people only stop to use the bathroom. Wilmington Borough Council agreed to set up four portable toilets in town on Saturday.
“We have to pay for water and sewer, and when people come in and don’t eat, that’s costing us money,” she said.
Driving is challenging.
“Several years, we tried to go to the bank and you couldn’t even get down the street,” Ryder said. “It’s completely crazy, but I have no complaints. It’s just a bit of an annoyance.”
New Life Baptist Church near Ryders has nearly 50 spaces reserved in its front parking lot for sellers like Wampum’s Carolyn Baker.
Baker along with her husband Tom and daughter Amanda Thompson plan to leave home at 4:30 a.m. to begin selling their crafts by 7. A retired floral designer, Baker makes nomes, her husband does tie dye and her daughter does Diamond Dotz, which are sparkly little dots attached to sticky fabric.
“It’s interesting to watch everybody and meet everybody,” Baker said. “We set up every year. It gets really crazy. Some people can’t even get through town.”
“It’s a good place to start the event because we have parking in the back,” added Greg Marshall, outreach and communications pastor for the church.
Marshall called the traffic “insane.”
“We try to keep them parked on the road and in the back parking lot,” he said. “It’s pretty crazy from Volant to Pulaski.”
Christina Barry, owner of the Schoolhouse across from the closed Dutch Isle in New Wilmington, plans to use the event to test the waters for future artisan fairs. About a dozen artisans and food vendors will be set up.
“This is something new and this will give us a way to give it a try,” Barry said.
Vendors will offer Vintage items, plants, jewelry and handmade things.
Jeff Steffler, who is Shirley Steffler’s husband, said there tends to be a lot of traffic from Route 18 and into New Wilmington.
“People park on both sides of the road, sometimes two wide,” he said.
As for Shirley, she avoids the traffic chaos by hanging out at her own yard sale on South Lincoln Street.
“We normally sell out and if we have items left over, we just put them in a box and set them on the curb. Someone always stops.”
