Widest Yard Sale comes through Selma

Published 10:08 pm Friday, April 20, 2018

Gizmos and gadgets can be seen all along U.S. Highway 80 as vendors set up for the World’s Widest Yard Sale, also known as the Historic U.S. Highway 80 Sale.

At Angie’s Auction, vendors were set up Friday with a variety of items giving shoppers a little bit of everything to choose from.

“The thing I like about it is meeting the people and talking to them,” said Earnest Halbrook, a vendor from Vredenburgh, which is about an hour down the road. “It’s a lot of fun. I really enjoy it. You get to see a great cross section of people.”

Email newsletter signup

Halbrook enjoys going to yard sales throughout the year, so selling at the widest yard sale gives him the opportunity to buy leading up to it.

“It gives me an outlet. I love to go to the yard sales and buy. But at some point, you’ve got to have an outlet for it,” Halbrook said. “I sell on this every year. This is probably my fifth year.”

Halbrook said it takes some time to get his items ready for the sale.

“I start about a month ahead of time and start putting stuff in my trailer,” he said. “I pack it just as tight as I can pack it.”

From cast iron door stops, to 1800s tools and handmade jewelry, Halbrook has a variety of items.

“When I’m on a yard sale looking, this is the kind of yard sale I want to go to because I want to be able to see different types of stuff and unique stuff –– stuff that you don’t normally see,” Halbrook said. “I probably have too much, but I just like the variety.”

Heather Hill was out shopping with her parents Friday at Angie’s, and she and her mom, Carolyn Robertson, have been participating in the sale for around 10 years.

“I’m very happy to be here. It’s gorgeous weather and we are just having the best time,” Hill said. “This is our favorite stop to come to, and we absolutely love it.”

Hill said she likes to use her bargaining skills to get the best deal.

“I’m an attorney, so it’s fun. It’s like work trying to get better deals than what everybody offers,” Hill said laughing. “It’s good practice for me for work.”

Robertson said she enjoys spending time with her daughter and finding unique items.

“We just enjoy it. We never were big mall shoppers. It’s just different,” Robertson said.

“We just enjoy it because you can’t find some of this stuff somewhere else.”

The sale was started as a way to bring in more people to smaller towns along Highway 80 through Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia.

The sale will continue Saturday from sun up to sun down at various sites throughout Selma and Dallas County.