Edwardsburg had its 15 minutes of fame last week or maybe it was more like three or four days of fame.

The village and surrounding areas were full of shoppers who were focused on spending their money.

From the U.S. Highway 12/Michigan 60 bypass to Union, the highway was jammed with people who were eager to part with their money for a bargain and there were bargains to be had.  Even sales that took place off the beaten path were successful. The US 12 Yard and Garage sale was a huge success.

Many of the shoppers and lookers were from out of town.  Some were from way out of town who had never been here before. Conversations that were exchanged with the visitors were like friends at a party. The largest Sale takes place on U.S. Highway 127 in Michigan to Alabama, over 690 miles.

It could not have been hotter. The temperature was in the 90’s and Saturday it rained.  Do you think that kept shoppers from shopping?  The diehards were out with their umbrellas. By afternoon steam was arising and the showers continued but did it stop the shoppers? No! They were dumping water out of the items on display and buying them.

When I was growing up I don’t remembers garage sales. So I went to my trusty resource and discovered the modern garage sale stems from the word rummage and as far back as the 16th century, people have been unloading their wares on their neighbors. Of course, it wasn’t as simple as setting out a few tables in your driveway.

The original rummage sale was usually in a big enclosed space with piles of objects to rummage through. These were mostly held in churches.

The individual sales began in the late 1960s as people began acquiring more things than they needed.  During World War II people were making do with what they had but after the war there were more goods and more affluent people and more buyers.

Sales were originally advertised by a cardboard sign stuck in the driveway or an ad in the classified section of the newspaper. Now sales are advertised on the internet.  I saw people taking pictures of items and sending them to their friends before purchasing.

Many people do not know that you must have a permit to hold a sale on your property.  This sets a time when the sale can be held and prevents an ongoing sale to take place in a neighborhood.

Last weekend with so many places to stop and shop there were what we called

“drive by shoppers” If they didn’t see anything of interest from their cars they just went on to the next spot.

This annual sale is as big as Black Friday. I hope you found a bargain. I said I wasn’t going to buy anything but. … See you next year.

 

JoAnn Boepple works at the Edwardsburg Area History Museum.