Patricia and Donald White from Anniston, Ala. pull out coins for Charles and Margaret Ladd to inspect. They Whites are set up along U.S. Highway 127 for the World's Longest Yard Sale this week.
Photo by Corrina Sisk-CassonIF YOU GO• What: World's Longest Yard Sale (Highway 127 Corridor Sale)• Where: 675 miles along Highway 127 from Hudson, Mich., to Gadsden, Ala.• When: Thursday-Sunday• For more information: www.127sale.com
DUNLAP, Tenn. - Doshie Crowder peers down at a table filled with glassware and kitchen items, searching for crystal knife rests made in England that she uses on special occasions to keep her tablecloths clean.
She and her husband got out and spent a day poking around for treasures from vendors set up early for the 25th annual World's Longest Yard Sale, which officially runs Thursday through Sunday.
"We go between here and Crossville, [Tenn.]," Crowder said. "By that time, we're tired. It's long and hot."
Kenneth McGuire likes to set up his homemade rustic furniture in a cluster with other vendors. Although his family is from Spencer, Tenn., he takes them all around the country to various shows. But they always mark the World's Longest Yard Sale on their calendar.
"That's where all of the people come through," McGuire said. "They pull in here, look through the whole thing, hop back in their cars and go down the road."
According to www.127sale.com, the World's Longest Yard Sale covers 675 miles in five states - Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio and Michigan.
Sequatchie County Executive Claude Lewis, who moved to the area in 1976, said he likes the sale and believes it's good for the area.
"Sometimes it's very inconvenient with traveling," he said. "But I really like it. Every year, I go look for a bargain."
Lewis said the event adds to Dunlap's revenues, buoying the economy with more people at motels, restaurants, gas stations and convenience stores.
"Then, of course, the county gets the sales tax from those, so it's a big boost for us," he said.
Lewis thinks the sale has slowed down over the past few years. But people still come. He and his wife, Linda, have met people from all across the country either selling or buying items.
"We have met people from Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, all around," he said. "I guess the farthest I've met someone was from Arizona."
Marty Tate, who owns Dunlap Restaurant, said the 127 Corridor Sale is a crazy place to be.
"You say '127 yard sale' to a half dozen people and you will get a half dozen responses," he said. "It's good for us. It gives us a lot of business. Everybody wants to get in, sit down and cool off. Get something to drink and eat."
People come from around the world, Tate said.
"I wish years ago we would have started a guest register just to keep track of it," he said. "We get people from all over."
Corrina Sisk-Casson is based in Dunlap. She can be reached at corrinacasson1@aol.com